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inkandpen22 · 3 years

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Dazed and Confused (S1: 2/?)

Pairing: Steve Harrington x Female!Reader

Warnings: mild langage

Word Count: 2k

Part Summary: After Steve spends the night at Y/N Jonathan Byers accuses Y/N of getting too close to her best friend’s boyfriend

Masterlist

I wake up to a banging on my door. It sounds like an uncontrollable jackhammer.

“Y/N! Oh Princess Y/N!” My mom screeches on the other side. “Wake up! You have to pick up Dustin in thirty minutes!”

The last bit grabs my attention. My eyes fly open and I attempt to sit up but I’m pinned down. My head whips to the side and Steve is sound asleep next to me. His arm is draped across my stomach keeping me pinned. In a rush, I shove him off of me and fly out of bed. Steve wakes up abruptly and falls off the mattress onto the floor with a thud.

“Shit!” He blurts out.

“What was that?” My mom asks worriedly.

Wide-eyed, I stare down Steve who peers up at me from the floor.

“I’m just getting ready! I’ll be out in five!” I shout to my little brother.

Thankfully, I hear him patter off as he grumbles various curse words under his breath.

I must look like a crazy lady as I run around my room getting ready. My hair is going in a ponytail today because there’s no way I have time to style it. Steve moves about me, collecting his things. It’s Friday so that makes picking out an outfit rather easy. It’s game day, so cheer uniform. I start changing from my pajamas into my cheer uniform. I hop on one leg as I remove my shorts and rush to grab my skirt off my dresser. As I slip off my t-shirt and change into my vest, I check my appearance in the mirror on my dresser.

Behind me, Steve eyes me curiously. He appears in some sort of wide-eyed daze.

I whip my head around to check on him. “You okay?”

He hums absentmindedly. Then, he shakes his head repeatedly to snap how of it. “Yeah! Uh… it’s just… um… you…” he stammers, “uh…. Nevermind! I’ll see you in a little bit,” he says as he goes to climb out of my window.

“Okay? Catch ya later.” I laugh, wondering why he’s acting so odd.

He’s such a goofball. I wonder if it’s because I freaked him out when I woke him up. Oh well, he scared me last night so karma.

________________________________________

Once we arrive at school, Dustin runs off to join the boys who have all agreed to dress as the Ghostbusters for school. Since the Demogorgon incident, Dustin and I have grown closer. We live on the same block and being only children help.

Nancy isn’t at her locker when I arrive at my own, odd. What’s even weirder is Jonathan is waiting for me.

“Hey,” I greet him with a raised brow.

It’s not that I dislike Jonathan, we’re simply not close friends. Sure, we had a bonding experience last year but he and I are very different people.

“Hey,” he stuffs his hands into his back pockets nervously. “Have you… uh… have you seen Nancy?”

Interesting, Byers looking for Nancy. If this were any other day she would be here beside me and I wouldn’t be standing here with Jonathan but apparently, today isn’t going to be average.

“Nope, I haven’t. I was wondering where she is myself. Usually, she’d be here by now,” I fill him in on the lastest as I put the combination into my locker.

“Well if you see here will you tell her I have something for her?” He requests.

“Is it your love confession?” I tease.

“Huh?” He acts oblivious to what I mean.

“Oh please, it’s clear as day you have a thing for Nance," I snicker as I pull out my books. "I’ve known since Steve and I showed up at your house last year.” I glance over my shoulder at him and it’s evident I’ve spooked him. My bluntness tends to have that effect on people. "Look,” I say gently and quietly between us. “I won’t say anything. I understand that she’s with Steve. So, you feel like there’s no point but it’s important to say how you feel and be honest.”

"Just like how you’re honest with Steve about having a thing for him?” He boldly fires back.

I scoff, he’s delusional! Me and Steve, really? There’s no way! I laugh, “I don’t have a-”

“Really? Yesterday in the gym?” He challenges.

His question, more like a threat, takes me by surprise. What, so Jonathan is watching me now? He’s eavesdropping on my conversations?

“How about over the summer?” He presses further, stepping closer until he towers over me. “You two were together more than he and Nancy ever were! How about this morning when I was on my way to school and saw him climbing out of your window? Hm? How about that?”

Okay, now I’m just getting pissed. “I can assure you, Steve loves Nancy!” I growl. “There’s is nothing, and I mean nothing, between us! Now I suggest you stop acting like a tough guy before I remind you who really holds all the power here,” I threaten him.

He forgets that I’m the captain of the cheer squad. I’m adored around here. He’s some punk who hangs out all day in the photography classroom. If he really wishes to test me, I can promise I will win. I always win.

“Fine then…” he mutters, mere inches from my face. “But remember, I could easily tell Nancy about last summer.”

He steps back with narrowed eyes locked on me until he turns around to slip away. I watch, stunned, as he disappears into the cluster of students traveling about the hall. A bit disturbed, to say the least, I lean back against the lockers to catch my breath.

I don’t like Steve, that’s crazy! Steve… Steve and I… we’re just friends, really good friends, best of friends! Jonathan is psychotic and tossing out random ideas to get a rise out of me. All we did was hang out over the summer! He was already dating Nancy, my oldest friend! I would never ever betray her like that! Screw Byers.

________________________

After last period, I return to my locker to pack up my homework. As I’m packing up my stuff, Nancy pops up next to me all distraught. She’s shaky and appears frightened, the same way she did when fighting the Demogorgon.

“Nance? Nancy, what’s wrong? What happened?” I ask her repeatedly, already worried.

She scans the area, making sure no one is watching us. Swiftly, she pulls into the girls bathroom.

I stumble inside, immediately checking the stalls to make sure we’re alone. Once I determine the coast is clear, I spin around to face her.

Her arms are wrapped around her tightly like a blanket. She swallows hard, her glazed eyes meet mine in fear. “I saw Barb!” She whispers as though she’ll be struck for doing so.

That’s impossible. We left Barb in the Upside Down. She’s gone. She’s dead.

“You what?” I shake my head in disbelief, pacing away from her.

“In the library!” She explains, "I saw her! She called out for us! She said this wasn’t me! She said you were hiding! Pretending!”

Now frightened, I whip my head around to face her directly. I note the hint of hope in her eyes that’s overpowered by guilt. I mourned Barb. We all did. I’m sorry for her parents, I am truly, but everyone is right! There’s nothing we can do! What’s done is done! All we can do is move on and live our lives!

I refuse to relive the endless guilt, depression, and anxiety that consumed me for months on end. I felt like a shell of a human for almost a year after what happened. I can’t do this.

“I have to go to drive Dustin home,” I announce.

Quickly, I cross the room toward the door. I have to get out of here. This is nonsense.

Nancy grabs my wrist before I pass her, “But Y/N-”

I yank my arm free from her grip, “goodbye Nancy!”

Shaken for the second time today, I storm out of the bathroom and hurry toward the exit. I grip the handle of my purse, unable to control my shaky hands. Tears coat my eyes and threaten to slip down my cheeks.

Flashbacks of that horrid night take over my train of thought. I see it clear as day. All of the blood, the sting from my arm, the pressure of that monster pinning me down. Everything I’ve been suppressing demands to be felt again. I’m living in my own personal Hell.

As I push through the doors to the parking lot, the bright sunlight blinds me for a second. People cluster outside the school in their cliques. I weave between them, eager to get to my car and fly home. I can’t allow anyone to see me like this. I’m the strong one. I have my life together. I can’t break.

In the distance, Dustin leans against the passenger door waiting for me. I keep telling myself that I’m almost there, just a couple of steps more.

“Y/N-” Someone grabs my shoulder to stop me.

Caught off guard and already distraught, I gasp and my bag slips from my shoulder to the pavement.

I peer up to see Steve eyeing me with such compassion that I nearly slip and start sobbing. I wish I could tell him everything zooming through my mind but I can’t, it’s not his burden to bear.

Urgently, he gathers my bag off the ground and places it on my shoulder. His hand lingers on my forearm, rubbing up and down comfortingly. I attempt to hide my shakiness by crossing my arms tightly.

“You’re upset,” he states the obvious but I know he means well. “Are you alright?”

I hum, nodding my head repeatedly. If I attempt to speak my voice may crack and then he’ll never let me go. Please Steve, I understand that you’re checking on me and I know you truly care but please let me go.

“What is it?” He scrunches his eyebrows as he shifts on his heels. “Is it about Nancy? She was speaking about Barb earlier. Did she confront you about it? If it is I-”

“Y/N!” Dustin shouts over to us impatiently.

For once, I won’t argue with him about interrupting me. “I have to go,” I mumble under my breath and rush off before Steve has the chance to object.

Once I’m a few feet away from Dustin, he notices my state and instantly climbs into the car without any questions.

After I toss my bag into the backseat and move up front, I take a moment to gather myself and blast some music before I start driving.

“Shitty day?” Dustin finally breaks the silence.

Rubbing my temples, I snicker, “to put it simply.”

He sighs, “Yeah, me too. First, all of the little assholes at school decide not to dress up this year. My guess is they all formed a pact and kept us out of it. It was all pretty embarrassing. Then, there’s this new girl, Max, smoking’ hot, but thinks she’s cooler than everyone else. Lucas likes her too… We followed her around for a little bit but then… well shit… she was onto us. Do you wanna talk about your day?” He offers to listen.

I shake my head and open my eyes. Exhaling deeply, I grip the wheel and prepare to go. “No, because if I do then it will lead down a dark road that I don’t wish to travel ever again.”

Dustin respects my silence and he talks most of the way home. I appreciate him not forcing me to speak about the horrors of today. Right now, I much rather listen and be distracted. Today was one of the worst days I’ve had in a while. At least tonight is the party. I could really use some mindless fun, risky shenanigans, and most importantly, booze.

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Masterlist

#steve harrington smut #steve harrington fanfic #steve harrington imagine #steve harrington #stranger things fanfic #stranger things smut #stranger things image #stranger things

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hufflepuffhollander · 4 years

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the photoshoot: tom holland imagine

a/n | i got this idea from a facebook post i saw and ran with it! i’ve never included a photo story in my writing so i hope i didn’t botch it! my WIPs are all pretty angsty so i figured i’d fluff it up a little for y’all (also this gif amirite)

summary | you are picked for a social experiment: a couples’ photoshoot where you don’t meet the person you’re posing with until the beginning of the session.

tom x fem reader | contains fluff, fluff, and more fluff | word count: 2.1k | enjoy!

“My god, just pick a dress, y/n. We’ve been here for hours.”

Your friend stood with her arms crossed as you studied yourself in the dressing room mirror, making faces of content then unrest, unsure if this dress was the one to go with- or if it could’ve been any of the last 15 you’d tried on.

“I can’t decide, maybe I just need to go through them again-”

“No!” your friend said, grabbing the pile of hanged clothes off of the hook on the wall and holding them out of your reach. “You’re overthinking this, it’s just a photoshoot! You don’t even know the guy! And the one you have on is obviously the best choice.”

You turned back to the mirror and stared at the starchy white fabric of the dress, its eyelet lace design making it a tight fit that accentuate your curves. You sighed in resignation. “Fine. But if the pictures come out and I look like a ghost, I’m blaming you.”

You took the outfit home and laid it out in preparation for tomorrow, kicking yourself for having signed up for this in the first place. After a long week, you only wanted to stay in your sweatpants in bed tomorrow instead of getting all dolled up to go take photos in cliche poses with a total stranger. You sent your friend a passive aggressive text about it, since she was the one who made you sign up for the ‘social experiment’, and all you received back was an annoyingly curt “you’ll thank me later”. You threw your phone aside and went to bed early, crossing your fingers that tomorrow would go by as quickly as possible.

You arrived to the shoot location the next day- a vineyard an hour away that you got turned around twice trying to find. Once you stepped out of the car, the photographer came to greet you, a friendly woman in her mid thirties wearing all black and a massive camera swinging around her neck like an oversized necklace.

“Ah, y/n, thank you so much for coming! It seems like your partner is running a little behind, so we’ll just have to wait for a few,” she smiled bleakly, running away to ridicule one of the men setting up the reflective umbrellas.

“We want to capture the people, not the sun, Nicholas.”

You leaned against your car already annoyed at your partner for failing to show up. You had woken up two hours early to curl your hair and do a full face of makeup, and this is how you get rewarded? You swore up and down that you’d smack your friend when you saw her later. The photographer, whose name you learned was Karen—typical—brought you into a tangle of grapevines to test the lighting and shoot some practice photos. You were already horribly uncomfortable when it was just you standing alone, and couldn’t imagine how much worse it would be when another clueless anti-model had to pose next to you.

“Doll, just put your hand on your hip, like this-

“Well no, not like that—uh, Nicholas, can you go pose her?

“Just smile, dear. You look...really unhappy.”

It was nightmarish.

You were saved by the bell as another car pulled into the lot and a guy of average height wearing a crisp blazer stepped out, wearing the snobbiest looking pair of wayfarers you’d ever seen.

“Oh, great! Tom’s here,” Karen cheered, happy to rush away from the agonizing one-on-one session you’d just had. You looked at Nicholas, trying again to fix the umbrella.

“Tom?” you asked, and he just nodded.

“Yeah, Tom Holland. Don’t know how she managed to get an A-lister out here for this, but that’s Karen,” he responded, walking away.

Wait, what?

Karen waltzed back over to you with him in tow, a smile plastered on her face so big you thought the one she flashed you earliest must’ve been entirely insincere.

“Great! Here we are! y/n, this is Tom,” she said, pushing him forward to stand in front of you. He gave you a bright smile and stuck out his hand.

“Pleasure to meet you, love.”

You shook his hand without speaking because you literally had forgotten how to breathe. This was your stranger? You’d had the biggest, most incurable crush on Tom Holland since you were a teenager, and all of your social skills that you’d picked up as an adult had clearly just evaporated in the sun.

“Uh, hi-” Karen and Tom shared a laugh at your starstruck expression. “Sorry, do you two know each other?”

“Yeah, Karen and I go way back,” Tom said, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and squeezing her tight. “She taught me how to model.”

“Well, it’s not hard when you have this face to work with!” She pinched Tom’s cheeks and grinned, then looked you up and down, reminding you with a glance how hard it had been just to get you to smile for the camera without looking deranged. Ouch, Karen.

“Okay, well, let’s get started then,” she skipped off back to the rows of vines lining the field and Tom ushered you with his hand. “After you,” he smiled.

You tried not to stumble over your heels stepping in the uneven earth below you, and Karen brought the camera up to her face with a squeal. “Alright, sweeties, let’s make the camera think you’re falling in love!” Karen, you decided, was an extremely over-the-top human. “This is your meet cute. You’re just seeing each other for the first time. Make it sparkle.”

That was all she gave you direction-wise, and you and Tom just stood staring at each other a few feet apart as the camera started clicking. The shade of your cheeks made it look like you’d just run a marathon and you just started giggling out of sheer nerve, making Tom start to work up a laugh, too.

“She’s a bit much, isn’t she?” he motioned with his eyes so Karen couldn’t pick up on his comment.

“I don’t even know what she wants me to do.” you said, concentrating on a bushel of grapes instead of Tom’s dreamy face because you were worried if you spent more than three seconds looking into his eyes, you’d pass out cold.

“Well I’m basically a pro at this, so let me help you, okay?” he said, reaching out for your hand again. You took it as your heart did somersaults in your chest, and as he exclaimed “ooh, nice nails”, you genuinely smiled, giving Karen exactly the shot she wanted.

Your hand was shaking, and he gave it a gentle squeeze. “Why are you so nervous?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? I’m absolutely clueless!”

Tom shrugged and looked off to the side. “Well, you said it, not me...”

You gasped and feigned offense, whipping your hand out of his. “How dare you!”

He laughed and tried to take your hand again, but you dramatically swiped your arm out of his reach, and the camera picked up a series of shots that made it look like you and Tom were playing ninja.

“Uh, what are we doin’ here, folks?” Karen questioned as you and Tom ran in circles around one another, him trying to get at your hands and you doing everything in your power not to let it happen. Your nerves melted away as the endorphins kicked in. Eventually Tom gave up and decided to grab hold of you, pick you up and twirl you around, in the chaos yelling “We need to please the Karen!”. You were laughing and out of breath from running around, and you slowly lowered your head to his, the look in his eyes reading that he was about to kiss you...

“That was amazing!” Karen squealed, shaking you from Tom’s mesmerizing stare, pushing the moment past you. Tom let you down to the ground, both of you shocked that he’d made such a bold move in the first place. He wiped his hands on the legs of his pants and cleared his throat as you fiddled with some of the curls that had come loose around your face. Karen couldn’t be happier; the money shot came out looking like a magazine ad.

Tom gave you a sheepish smile. “Uh, sorry if that was too-”

“It wasn’t,” you batted your lashes at him and could’ve sworn his cheeks were tinted just as pink as yours.

Karen’s loud voice pitched in as you had ended up standing still, a photographer’s worst nightmare.

“Okay, so we’ve met, now show me that chemistry!” she shouted, getting an eye roll from you and a snicker from Tom at your reaction.

“Is she expecting us to fall madly in love now that we’ve known each other for more than five minutes?” you asked, fluffing out the skirt of your dress.

“Weirder things have happened,” Tom shrugged his shoulders and winked at you before turning around and walking towards a cluster of vines, picking off a grape and popping in his mouth with a satisfying crunch.

“Oh, are we allowed to eat them? I’m dying out here in the sun!” You followed his pattern and picked a few grapes out of the brambles, noticing a few rows away that there was a small table with two glasses and a bottle of wine. Tom followed your gaze to the alcohol and looked back at you, his expression reflecting exactly what you were thinking.

“Can I buy you a drink?” he smirked.

You collectively ignored Karen’s remarks as you wandered to the table and filled the glasses.

“Are we sure this is here for us?” you looked around skeptically.

“I have no idea, darling. Cheers.”

You sat down in the grass and clinked the flutes together, still unable to believe this was really happening to you. You and Tom started to talk about nothing, already feeling a thousand times more comfortable around each other, bonding over this shared weird experience—and the fresh off-the-vine wine certainly didn’t hesitate to calm your nerves.

As Tom was leaning closer to you, gaze notably flicking from your eyes to your lips, Karen snuck up to you—pretending to be a grape?—and snapped photos of your impromptu picnic.

“Just adorable,” she murmured, and you almost spilled your wine because of how startled you were. Damnit, Karen, you keep ruining the moment. But she didn’t think twice about the interruption; she almost had tears in her eyes because of how perfect the shots were.

You both sat up and away from one another, feeling stiff now that a lens was pointed at you.

“Well, don’t stop on my account!” she chortled, wholly unaware her debut was what killed the vibe.

Tom stood up and offered his hand to help you stand, not immediately letting it go as you wandered to a different part of the sunny vineyard. You pushed the photographer out of your mind as you chatted again, bumping each other’s shoulders as you walked and not minding it a bit. Every time you saw a certain glint in Tom’s eyes, any moment he caught you looking, there could’ve been a spark there that ignited something more. But you were constantly interrupted by shutter clicks, yells at Nicholas, and annoying directing interjections by the appropriately-named Karen.

At one point, Tom had clearly had enough of the pestering, and took your hand, pulling you into an array of closely packed trees so you couldn’t be found.

“Woah- what are you doing?” you asked, confused at the sudden change of scenery.

“Guys? Where did you go?” You heard a shrill voice coming from outside the trees, and Tom attempted to shush you by pulling you close into his body and covering half your face with his hand.

“Shut up shut up shut-”

You heard Karen’s voice grow quieter as she searched in the opposite direction.

“Tom!” you chuckled, prying his fingers off of your cheek. “You’re going to smear my makeup!”

“It’s not like you need it, y/n,” he said without thinking, attention still focused on hiding.

Your whole face grew hot and you couldn’t help but smile like a complete fool. When he looked down at your reaction, he noticed the weight in what he’d said, and made the cutest giggle you’d ever heard, trying to avert the focus from his compliment.

“Sorry, I just couldn’t handle another photo directive being shouted in my ear,” he breathed while pushing his hair back out of his eyes in some devilishly handsome way. You were still clutching the hand that had been on your face, and Tom looked down to interlock his fingers with yours.

“You do know we’re at a photoshoot, right?”

He playfully shoved your shoulder with his free hand at your sassy comment.

“Just saying, I thought you were a pro-”

You heard the photographer’s voice come into the foreground again and you abruptly ran as fast as you could with heels on, still holding Tom’s hand as you trailed behind him. You found yourselves in an even more tightly packed bramble of trees, facing each other with barely a grapevine’s width between you.

“Oh, you have a stick in your hair,” you whispered, reaching up to pick a tiny branch out of his curls. As you looked from his hair to his eyes, he was staring deeply into yours, prompting you to leave your hand resting at the back of his neck.

Wordlessly, he leaned in and kissed you in one fell swoop, and you thought you might implode on the spot when his lips came in contact with your own. He tasted like cologne and crisp grape juice and it was a mixture of scents you hoped would never leave your nose—just the way he kissed you so sweetly made you want to bathe in the stuff.

When he pulled back, he brought your intertwined fingers up to cup your cheek, and you let your hand rest on the back of his as you tilted your head to instigate another kiss, still enjoyably dizzied from the one before.

Tom let his mouth linger over yours after another long kiss before coming up for air again, and you could see his eyes wrinkling at the corners, knowing he was smiling without being able to see the rest of his face.

“You know, I was hesitant to do the whole ‘stranger photoshoot’ thing, but now I’m pretty happy I was able to be convinced.” He sighed contently.

“This was more of a stranger hide-and-go-seek than a photoshoot, I feel like,” you spoke from your lighthearted chest in airy breaths and moved to lock lips again, unable to get enough of your stranger. He put his hand on the small of your back and leaned you backward, deepening the already electric hold he had on you.

“I don’t want you to be a stranger anymore, darling,” he mumbled against you, sending vibrations through you with his voice. You just whispered a soft “okay”, lost for words, as his mouth touched your cheek, your jaw, and then back to your lips for more of your wine-infused kisses. You were wishing this moment could last forever, Tom holding you and sending shivers down your spine, right as you heard a click and saw the bright white flash of a bulb.

“Jesus, Karen!”

But she didn’t care that you were mad; her experiment had worked, she’d gotten her strangers together—and just look at that shot.

#tom holland #tom holland imagine #tom holland one shot #tom holland blurb #tom holland pictorial #tom holland fanfiction #tom holland x reader #tom holland x you #tom holland imagines #tom holland one shots #tom holland blurbs #tom holland pictorials #tom holland fanfictions

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eirist · 3 years

Text

Little Bits and Pieces of Heaven

THE EGG HUNT SHENANIGANS

One-shot #: 25

Disclaimer: One Piece (and its characters) belongs to Eiichiro Oda-sensei.

Reminder: I have no beta-reader. Any grammatical and spelling errors are solely mine.

Warning: OOC possible. One shot scribble.

Rating: T (Just light flirting stuff)

Note: Light teasing. PWP. And pure insanity I tell you. Just ending my quarantine with another one-shot. Because who knows when I can write and upload one again.

Summary: "Found the bunny."

With a cheerful and dazzling smile, Luffy—the captain of the infamous Straw Hat Pirates—held out his hands to show off the beautifully decorated basket to his crew members.

Sanji cocked an eyebrow at him. "Seriously?"

"Yes!” Luffy exclaimed. “We're gonna go hunt for eggs!" His already bright smile widened some more at the idea of an adventure.

This time it was Zoro’s turn to raise an eyebrow. "Wearing… that?" His lone eye scrutinized the rabbit costume the rubber man had on.

The younger boy nodded again, head bobbing up and down enthusiastically. “Usopp and Chopper are wearing the same!”

"Yes we are!" Usopp and Chopper yelled proudly, pumping their fists up in the air.

“…”

“What the hell is wrong with this island?" The cook muttered under his breath with a slight shake of his head.

“More like what the hell is wrong with them?” Zoro grunted, folding his arms across his chest as he nudged his head towards the three.

It was one of those rare days when he and the idiot swordsman weren’t snarling insults at each other because there is a more pressing and absurd matter to attend to...

…like Luffy, Usopp and Chopper in bunny suits, holding colorful baskets to join the island’s ‘egg hunt’.

“Fufufu…” Robin laughed softly from her deck chair where she was relaxing. “It’s the island’s tradition. They are celebrating what they call Easter.” She explained as she flipped a page of the book in her hand.

“By looking for eggs?” Zoro inquired with a frown as the three bunnies started singing a song about egg hunting.

“Yes,” Robin nodded. “We just so happen to arrive here right in time for that celebration.”

“Weird.”

“No it’s not!” Usopp retorted looking aggravated at Zoro’s comment. “I recalled visiting an island once where hunting for eggs is considered a manly man’s sport! The one who finds the most wins the title of the most manliest man alive.”

“Suge Usopp!” Chopper gasped.

“That is right,” the sniper crossed his arms over his chest haughtily. “And guess who won the title five years in a row?”

“You, of course.” Both Zoro and Sanji drawled, with the same expression on their faces that clearly says… they’re not buying Usopp’s obviously untrue and exaggerated story.

Robin stifled her giggles behind her hand as Usopp yelled his retorts at the two. Both Luffy and Chopper were looking at him with their eyes sparkling from amazement.

“Whoa you’re awesome Usopp!” Luffy commented.

“You really are strong!” The reindeer gushed.

“I know right!” Usopp answered with an approving grin and a thumbs up.

“But I will defeat you today!” The captain declared. “I will be the one to win the title of the most manliest man alive.”

“And you’d do that…” Sanji said in an almost bored tone. “By finding… a lot of eggs?”

“Yes!”

Sanji sighed as he pulled out a packet of cigarettes from his pants.

“And you really need to wear… those costumes to hunt for them?” Zoro asked, still doubtful why they need to be in that.

“Yes!”

“It’s tradition Zoro,” Usopp stated matter-of-factly. “You can’t find the eggs if you’re not in a bunny costume! You’re so ignorant.”

“Temee…”

“Hey! Why don’t you join us too Zoro?” Luffy invited and Zoro almost blanched at that.

Almost.

"Yeah!” Chopper chirped in. “Join us! The more the merrier!"

“Nope. I’m good.” Zoro answered almost instantly. Like hell he would don that stupid costume and then hunt for stupid eggs.

Best to just leave them to their crazy shit.

“Have fun.” He waved them off.

Sanji let out a ‘tch’ before taking a drag from his cigarette. Things seemed to get weirder and weirder these past few days. But somehow the idea that he'll be free of the usual food stock raiders for the day feels too good to pass. "Alright then, run along rabbits. Go scour the island for eggs.”

“We will!” The trio chorused.

Sanji nodded at them. “And don't you dare create any messes for us to clean you hear?"

“Eeeh…” a voice from behind them suddenly said. “Don’t worry about it Sanji-kun."

And just like that the cook immediately swiveled around to face the newcomer.

"Nami-swaaan! Don't you look dazzling in that ensemble, my sweet!" He crooned as his eyes automatically turned to hearts, kneeling down on one knee in front of the navigator.

“Thank you!” Nami beamed at him and winked. The chef instantly fell down the lawn deck in a swoon, blabbering about her beauty. She was wearing an outfit just like the one she had on when they went after him in Whole Cake Island. Only this time the corset skirt is frillier and more colorful as the layers sported different shades of pastel spring palette.

The puffed sleeves of her blouse are pulled down her shoulders, revealing them and she had put on a rabbit ears headband on top of her head.

Zoro glared at the prone figure of the blond before shifting his attention to Nami. “You going with them?”

Nami nodded with a scheming grin. “Heard something about money prizes.”

“Of course you wouldn’t let that pass,” the green-haired man smirked. His lone eye trailed up and down her form as he studied her. “And you're supposed to be what? A rabbit as well?"

"Yes."

He jerked a thumb towards the three doofuses in their onesie costumes. "Why not wear the same as them?"

Nami narrowed her eyes at him as Sanji barked threats from where he was still lying down. Something about shutting his trap if he can’t say something nice to his precious Nami-san.

Zoro ignored him. Even as he started shouting insults that he is being the usual, unfashionable stupid marimo that he is.

"Because that is not cute." The map maker huffed, placing her hands on her hips.

"Looks ok on them." The grin that Zoro send her way was nasty.

She flipped her hair over her shoulder snootily. "Say one more word about what I'm wearing Zoro and I'll make sure your next sentence is, “Please don't charge me”."

"Right. Don't charge me… greedy witch," he said monotonously, deliberately omitting the word please and adding an insult as well.

She gave him the evil eye.

“Now go and run along with your rabbit friends."

"You can kiss your next island allowance goodbye Zoro," Nami said in an overly sweet tone as she smiled evilly. "I'll be splurging them for expensive lingerie later."

"OI!"

"Byeeee!" Nami immediately pranced away from him to escape; pushing Usopp, Luffy and Chopper towards the ship’s ladder so that they could embark. Sanji was automatically back on his feet and on her side to assist her while nose bleeding about lingerie and the orange-haired woman.

"Damn it Nami! You come back here!" Zoro was yelling as he stomped to follow her.

“Have fun!” Robin called out to them, eyes never leaving her book and creating duplicates of her hand at the railing to wave at them.

-------------------------

It was around lunch time when Nami entered the crow’s nest. The first thing her eyes landed upon was the figure of a sprawled Zoro, unsurprisingly asleep on the floor.

She approached the thunderously snoring swordsman and nudged his side with her foot.

“Hey,” she prodded him awake. “Hey Zoro, wake up!”

The snoring stopped. And there was a grunt. Then a tiger-like yawn, followed by another grunt.

Nami rolled her eyes at his response. “Zoro!”

“WHAT?!” Zoro answered irritably. He opened his eye and blinked up at her. “Hunt’s done?” He asked groggily before turning to his side so his back was now facing her, not even waiting for her answer.

A frown appeared on her lips. What a rude and lazy ass. She poked him on the back with her feet. He merely grunted again and ignored her.

“They’re still hunting,” she explained, looking down on his prone figure disapprovingly. She doubt if he was listening. Sometimes, you might as well talk to a rock than Roronoa Zoro.

“The game is happening on the whole island,” she continued. “I went back to get reinforcements. So wake up and come with me!”

“Will not. I’d rather sleep.”

Nami settled down on the nest’s floor just behind him. This time she was prodding him with her finger, making sure her nail was digging into his skin.

“Stop that.”

“I will not.”

“Why aren’t you looking as well?” He grumbled petulantly as she continued poking his back.

“That’s what my three rabbits are for! I’m just there to oversee and secure the money prize!”

“You can’t make me join you.”

And Nami leaned forward so her lips were almost touching his ear. “Really?”

“Whatever you’re planning. It won’t work.” He declared smugly, even as he kept his eye closed.

She laughed softly, letting her breath tickle his ear. “You’re no fun.” She shifted closer, bending over so she could drape her body on top of him.

“You know… I’m not planning anything.” She whispered, letting her lips lightly touch his ear. “I’m just here to offer a ten percent deduction to your current… debt amount.” She let her hand slide inside his t-shirt, past his haramaki to caress the well-defined muscles there.

“I already told you that’s not gonna work.” Zoro’s eye was now open and looking at her. A smirk was on his lips. “And I don’t recall borrowing money from you onna.”

“You don’t?” Nami gasped exaggeratedly. “What about that time in Vert Island? You owe me belis for the cottage rent.”

Zoro’s brow furrowed. “Thought that was your treat?”

She mock-pouted. “Oh Zoro. When are you gonna learn that there are no such things as free or treat when it comes to me?”

“You really are a wicked witch.” The green-haired man groused. “And after I made sure you thoroughly enjoyed your stay there.”

Nami snickered. Zoro noticed that the bunny ears on her head actually made her look more mischievous. “Nothing’s free nowadays Zoro,” she pointed out. “Favor for a favor. I pay; you work your ass off.”

He snorted. “Next time, I’m just lying down and letting you do all the work. Whether you pay or not.”

She threw back her head and laughed again. “Do the hunt and maybe I’ll humor you.” She bent over and placed teasing kisses along his jaw and neck.

“In your dreams.” He sneered and she felt his arm snaked around her, his hand squeezed the back of her thigh before it slid up to do the same on one plump cheek of her behind.

That made her bite her lip even as she complained. “Tch! You’re a hard man to bargain with.”

A shark-like grin appeared on Zoro’s face. “Yeah.” He playfully slapped her ass before giving it another squeeze. “Offer a better deal Nami.” He said teasingly against her ear this time before nipping at the skin below it as his hand continued caressing her backside.

“Mmm… well what do you—”

“WHAT THE HELL?”

They simultaneously turned their heads towards the voice.

Sanji was gaping at them from the nest’s entrance… his eyes wide as saucers. His face was so red. As red as the blood dripping down his nose as he took in the image of Nami's perfectly shaped-derriere and her lacy thong as her ridiculously short skirt and position put them on display….

… along with the shitty swordsman’s hand on it.

Silence reigned for a moment. Then…

“TAKE YOU GODDAMNED HANDS OFF HER AHO KENSHIN!”

“TAKE YOUR GODDAMNED EYES OFF HER ASS ERO COOK!”

“Temee…”

Both men growled the word at the same time as Nami disentangled herself from Zoro. She wasn’t even embarrassed at being caught. They weren’t actually keeping it from the crew after all.

But of course it would be better if Sanji was the last one to know.

Nami sighed heavily as she watched the two throwing death glares at each other.

It's the beginning of chaos.

The two attacked each other almost immediately. Sanji had leapt inside the crow’s nest, flaming legs and all as Zoro avoided him and made a grab for his swords.

And manage to hit the cook straight in the face with the sheathed end of his red katana.

Her mouth fell open as the Sanji collapsed down the steel floor. But she knew of course this was far from over.

In one swift move a grinning Zoro carted her towards the nest’s entrance. He enjoyed that, she knew. In a matter of seconds they were down the metal ladder while Sanji recovered, fumed and yelled expletives at his rival.

Using one arm to hold on to the ladder’s rung as his other was wrapped around her waist, Zoro swung slightly for leverage.

Nami’s eyes widened when she realized what he’s about to do.

“Zoro! NOOOOO!!!”

She screamed bloody murder when he let go and made the high jump down onto the Sunny’s deck.

Nami’s heart leaped to her throat. That was probably the reason why her scream stopped coming out of her mouth. Halfway down the long drop she could swear she felt her soul left her as her mind went blank.

She's going to kill Zoro! Mark her words!

Somewhere above Sanji was still yelling threats and curses.

The swordsman landed on the deck as if it was just a natural thing to do.

Oh dear heavens. Roronoa Zoro will be paying for this stupid stunt of his for the rest of his life until his next and next and next!

“Zorooo!” Luffy greeted when he spotted the former pirate hunter on the deck. “Heey!” He bounded towards him, showing his now-filled with eggs basket. Chopper and Usopp were nowhere to be seen as the three most likely got separated. “Look, look I found a lot! Shishishi! I can’t wait to show it to Usopp. Whatcha got there?” He peered at the figure tucked under Zoro’s arm.

"Found the bunny." Zoro answered nonchalantly.

"Oh that’s great! Shishishi!" Luffy chortled. He peered down again at the navigator who is still hanging motionlessly on Zoro's arm.

"Ne, Zoro?"

"Huh?”

"Uhm... the bunny looks mad.”

"..."

“THUNDERBOLT TEMPO!”

#zoro x nami #ZoNa #zonami #zonalove #zona one-shots #zoro nami fanfiction #zona fanfiction #roronoa zoro #nami

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someguynamedstevewrites · 4 years

Text

My Roommate is an Apparition: WHAT A HORRIBLE NIGHT TO HAVE A DAD - Part 2

Based on characters created by @reddpenn

————————————-

Oh man, am I late on posting this. So many things going on. Not to mention figuring out how to follow up the first part.

It seems people really like the first-person narration from “A-Pink-Ciation of Culture”, so I went with that again with this piece.

Almost DAILY, I get likes or re-blogs and the occasional follower despite not having posted anything since March. I’m very curious and would like to hear from you readers about what you like about my writing and what appeals to you. Eventually, I want to make a living off of writing, but until that time, I definitely could use any and all feedback.

Anyway, now that that’s out of the way, on with the story!

From the Diary of Lily, March 1st, 2020:

Okay, diary, I’m coming to you because I honestly have no idea where else to go to try and sort through the evening I just had with my Dad and Tulpa. I can’t put my finger on it, but something about tonight just... bothers me! It’s like I’m on pins and needles and can’t stop thinking about, well, a LOT of stuff. Just... hear me out and maybe it’ll make sense if I put this all down on paper (I.E. You). I just spent the last twenty minutes trying to talk things through out loud, but that got me nowhere so here goes nothing:

First off, my Dad came to visit a week earlier than what I had planned, and immediately sets up shop in my living room with his NES and copy of Castlevania III. Only problem was I hadn’t talked with Tulpa about his visit since I was expecting him until NEXT weekend. I kept thinking that the last thing I wanted was for anything weird to happen during his visit.

Which, looking back on it, was a really stupid thing to worry about.

I mean, Dad’s a pretty open-minded guy and he’s quite weird himself. He’s actually quite proud of his weirdness (embarrassing as it is sometimes). He tends to under-react to all kinds of things like it’s no big deal. I’ve even asked him why he doesn’t freak out about some of the stuff he comes across in real life or on TV, and he just tells me, “I’ve seen weirder.” (If some of the stories he’s told me are true, then he has. He really, REALLY has!)

For example: if Tulpa had come into the room holding a... I dunno, a plate or something, like would that really freak my Dad out? Pfft, No! He (maybe?) wouldn’t see her, all he’d see was a “flying saucer” (he deliberately would make that lame pun too), and then get back to his game. Then later, he’d try and tell me about the real flying saucers he saw years ago, or something.

Since I had assumed that Dad wouldn’t have been able to see her, it eventually clicked in my head that what I was actually worrying about was, “what would Tulpa think of my Dad?” He’s a huge Goofus that likes to make bad jokes, tell tall tales, and play video games! And even if he did weird her out, it’s not like she could go anywhere... right? I mean, she might avoid interacting with me because of him, but...

Oh...

Oh wow...

I just read what I just wrote and I can not believe I was being THAT irrational! ( Man, people are stupid sometimes; me included!)

Avoid me because of my DAD!? That’s gotta be the dumbest thing I’ve ever thought! It’s not like he LIVES here or anything! He’s not the one paying the rent; I am! And... I’ve gotten to know Tulpa pretty well these past few months, but... I guess I still have a lot more to learn about her. Case in point:

————————————-

So Tulpa tells me that she wants to meet my Dad, and after coming to my senses somewhat, I say she can sit in so long as she doesn’t touch anything (see flying saucer explanation above). A few minutes later, she walks in looking like the tall girl from Keep Your Hands off Eizouken (I had to look the name up; I couldn’t remember it for the life of me). By that I mean, she’s coming in as a tall, lanky, skinny, somewhat pale skinned girl looking to be about my age. She’s wearing some modest clothes and, if I’m being honest with myself, they looked kind of cute in that outfit they had on. It was a nice ensemble.

Then Dad says “Hi” to her.

...

Let me repeat that in case it hasn’t clicked with you yet.

My Dad GREETED her!

He! SAW! Her!

When I asked her about it later, she said to me that she thought that since he’s my Dad, then whatever it is that allows me to see her could be something my Dad has too. So far, her theory has been proven right, but... I’m not one-hundred percent sure, because Tulpa... well... she changed.

And I’m being literal here, too! She no longer had that transparency to her like usual. She had a nose! She had ears! She had five fingers! And she looked...

...well...

...good.

Tulpa said she had never tried doing this before, but figured that in the off-chance that her hunch was correct, she wanted to make a good impression on my Dad. (Why do I keep thinking about that old joke in movies and TV shows about the overprotective Dad that threatens the boy about to go on a date with their daughter?) She even went so far as to create her own “clothes”, saying she knew they’d be important. Considering that she doesn’t wear (or need) clothes any other time, I ask her how she came to that conclusion. I still have no idea what she meant when she suddenly bellowed out, “GOOD...! GRIEF...! HE’S...! NAKED!”

[Edit: It’s from Spongebob, because of course it was.]

So I’m not sure if Dad could see her because she purposely made herself opaque, or if he would have been able to see her if she wasn’t in her human “disguise” (and yes, I’m calling it a disguise and I’ll explain why a bit later, okay?). But either way, she walks in and my Dad just starts chatting away like so:

————————————-

“Hi there! You must be Lily’s roommate!” says Dad.

At this point, I’m kind of frozen solid on the couch, just watching and listening as everything unfolds in front of me like it’s being burned into my retinas. You know that saying about slow-motion train wrecks? Y’know, about how you can’t look away from them? This is probably why I remember the conversation so well.

“Heh...Hello,” she responds back nervously.

“I’m Lily’s Dad,” he says as if it wasn’t obvious, “Hope you don’t mind if we play some games out here.”

Tulpa shakes her head and stutters out, “No...N-not at all.”

“Great!” Dad responded with a smile that said, “Even if it was bothering you, I’m still going to take up the TV and play video games. So nyeh!” I’ve lived with him long enough to know that he’s not someone who would give up the TV without a fight.

(...gee... that kind of reminds me of someone now that I think about it...)

Tulpa then asks, “M-mind if... I watch?”

Dad gives her this big, goofy smile and responds with a, “Sure thing!” since despite him never admitting to it, he always liked having an audience around when he played games (or almost anything really) in hopes of “schooling” them. (Why he didn’t go into teaching, I will never understand.)

As soon as Dad turns back to his game and un-pauses it, Tulpa smiled, sat back, and looked content (Although it was a little weird seeing her smile with a nose to go along with it.) This snaps me out of my stupor long enough to scootch over to Tulpa and chat with her.

“You actually want to watch him play?” I ask her once more because the mere thought that she’d be interested in something outside of cartoons still hadn’t registered in my head, yet.

“Yeah...” she says as she starts to stare at the screen like she usually does during her cartoon time. “...sounded... familiar,” she said before looking up slightly while lost in thought, “...Simon... Belmont... Mega... Man... Kid... Icarus...” she said again as though that meant something. To me it just sounded almost like some kind of madness mantra, but...

“Oh! You mean Captain N: The Game Master!” my Dad chimed in out of seemingly nowhere.

“YES!” Tulpa said with excitement (worth noting that she doesn’t look excited very often, but when she does, she practically glows). “I remember...” she said before pausing to collect her thoughts and form the words she wanted to say. If I could have, I would have warned her about my Dad’s tendency to pounce on any hesitation in a conversation to take it over.

“Man, I haven’t seen Captain N in decades,” he said wistfully, “Surprised someone young as you remembers it. I was in High School when that show came on! When did you see it?”

“Ummm...” she hesitated, “...reruns... when I was... a kid.”

(As I’m writing this down now, I realize she was trying to hide her actual age from Dad. She looked to be in her early twenty’s like I was, but if she said she saw it when it came on the air originally, that’d make her over thirty years old at least.)

“Ahhhh! I see you have good taste in reruns!” Dad complimented.

“Th-thank you,” she stuttered back. As I listened to the awkward conversation of father-roommate bonding, I found my eyes constantly turning towards Tulpa. Not out of adoration or anything, but more like... studying her.

————————————-

On the one hand, she looked like the Tulpa that I had known ever since she became my roommate months ago. But on the other hand, they somehow weren’t. It’s kind of like when someone changes their looks a bit for maybe, I dunno, a night on the town, a job interview, a wedding, or something else along those lines. Only in her case, “dressing up” meant adding additional body parts she didn’t normally have.

(To be honest, I’m still not entirely sure what to think about that...)

I’ve always been a firm believer of people being themselves, and being allowed to be themselves. I can’t stand situations where people are unable to truly express themselves or feel comfortable. Way I see it, life is too short to be spent worrying over stupid stuff that makes people miserable just so they can come off as normal.

Sometimes it’s because of social norms and expectations; those unspoken rules of life that people are supposed to just magically “know”. Like if someone was going to a church or temple service, social norms say they need to wear their “Sunday Best” with stiff, itchy clothes that are dry clean only. If I was able to go to a sermon wearing a baggy college sweatshirt, sweatpants, and slippers, and NOT be judged like I’m some kind of crazy hobo, it would have definitely made something like that more appealing to me.

Now I have nothing against anyone that likes to dress up in fancy clothes and wear them out and about; I mean, everyone likes different things, right? The point is that if I’m going to do something that makes me uncomfortable, it should be because I wanted to do it for myself. I don’t think I should bend over backwards making myself feel bad (physically or mentally) for someone else’s sake. Sure, call me selfish if you must, but I just can’t advocate for doing something that makes you feel bad because you wanted someone else to feel good.

I’m just thankful no one in my family has ever tried to push anything on me. Sure, they’ve suggested things to me before, and of course made sure I didn’t do something stupid that would injure me or worse when I was too young to know better. But overall, my family has given me a lot of freedom to do what I want, dress how I want, and be who I want to be. Now that I think about it, I’m kind of lucky that way.

(I hope I’m making sense on this. Re-reading this, I’m not entirely sure if I do.)

————————————-

Anyway, I’m looking at Tulpa and watching them carefully, trying to figure out if they were comfortable looking like that or not. She’s just sitting there watching my Dad play Castlevania III, and he was now on the haunted pirate ship with Trevor and Sypha. He was breezing through at a pretty good pace and sharing an anecdote about how Warren Ellis figuratively gave him the “Turd Cape of Shame” on this old message board back when the Castlevania series on Netflix was just an idea back in 2007. (I still am not entirely sure if that story is true or not.)

“Hey Lily,” Dad asks suddenly out of the blue, “got anything to drink?” I offer him some lemonade, he accepts, and I go to the kitchen to pour him a glass. As I’m doing this, I hear Dad ask Tulpa, “By the way, I don’t think I caught your name. What was it again?”

“...Tulpa...” she says back to him.

My body freezes up for a moment as I realized that “Tulpa” is not an ordinary name. I mean the first time she told me her name, it sounded like some kind of Pokémon. Once again, that irrational fear of my Dad being weirded out or something enters my head, but is dispelled almost immediately.

“Tulpa?” my Dad says aloud to himself, “That’s a very interesting name.”

“T-Thank you...” she says back.

I walk in with a glass of pink lemonade and set it down on a little, folding TV dinner stand that was given to me when I first moved out for college. I slowly sit back down again as I keep an eye on Dad. His facial expression is the same as usual: relaxed. You could call it a poker face, but I’ve seen him play poker and he is BAD at poker.

“Anyone in your family Buddhist?” my Dad asks casually.

I step in, “Dad! What kind of a question is that!?” And I meant what I said too. Who even asks something like that!?

“I was just wondering,” he says before once again shutting up and focusing on his game.

This is one of the things about my Dad that bugs me to no end: he likes to be cagey sometimes. He’ll say something vague with the sole purpose of making the other person curious, confused, or both. It leaves, like, questions in the back of your head that just start gnawing at your brain and won’t stop chewing away at your gray matter until you finally ask him to explain what the heck he was talking about. He does this on purpose to “bait” people into asking him questions or to continue with what he’s saying. So annoying!

I sigh, “Why’s that, Dad?”

He gives a little smile and continues, “Oh it’s just that this isn’t the first time I’ve heard the name “Tulpa” before, that’s all.”

NOW he has my total undivided attention and Tulpa’s too as we both unconsciously lean forward. Practically in sync, we both say, “It’s not!?”

He’s still smiling as he says, “Nope. First time I heard that name was when I was doing some monster research for a Castlevania Wiki I had been working on a while back.”

Tulpa practically gulps, “M-M-Monster...?”

“Well not really a monster,” he says back, “more like... a supernaturally, artificially created person.”

(There are some times when my Dad can be down right spooky and creepy. This was one of those times.)

Full Metal Alchemist immediately pops into my head, and without even hesitating, I ask, “Like a Homunculus?”

“Nah, more like...” he says before pausing his game and turning to Tulpa and I, “...an imaginary friend.” Tulpa and I both tilt our heads in confusion. Dad picks up on this and by now, he is practically glowing at this opportunity to share some weird thing he just happens to know something about.

He explains, “So there’s this word in Tibetan called “Sprul-Pa” which means “Manifestation”, okay? And in early Buddhism, this is used as the explanation for how Gautama Buddha could travel to heavenly realms and come back again. You could say he created a clone of himself in the other realm and then transmitted his consciousness to it from his body on Earth. Kind of like a-”

By now, Tulpa and I were clearly on the same wavelength as she asks, “a Shadow Clone!?” at the exact same time I was thinking of it. Believe it!

Dad’s silent for a moment as he thinks to himself before finally going, “...uhhh... I guess... you could say that. I was thinking “Dream Body” but I suppose a shadow clone could work too.” My Dad used to watch Naruto with me on Toonami years ago, so he knew full well what a shadow clone was.

He turns to face us as he continues talking, “The thing with a Tulpa is that it’s something made from nothing. A Homunculus, using your example, Lily, requires having the materials necessary to make an artificial being on hand before you can create them. But a Tulpa is willed into existence out of nothingness. It is created from the thoughts of the creator; known as a “Thoughtform” in some cases.”

(WHEN did my Dad even learn this stuff!?)

“The difference between a Tulpa and an imaginary friend,” my Dad continued to say, “is that while an imaginary friend is just that, someone that exists in your imagination, a Tulpa is made when someone’s thoughts are so strong that they will their imaginary friend into existence.”

I look over at Tulpa, and she is totally absorbed in what my Dad’s saying.

“Now from what I’ve read...” Oh my God, Dad! What have you even been reading!? “...it’s very difficult for one person alone to have enough psychic power to will a sentient being into creation. But if you had enough people thinking the same thing, and thinking about it hard enough, then, hypothetically, a Tulpa could be created.”

“So what you’re saying is if enough people think Bigfoot is real, then they can actually make it real just by believing in them?” I snark.

“Yeah, pretty much,” my Dad replies without detecting my snark at all.

“Or like...” Tulpa chimes in, “...how Tinkerbell is saved... by believing in fairies and... clapping hands?” I was a bit surprised Tulpa knew that since I couldn’t recall Disney’s Peter Pan having that scene in it.

Dad thinks about it for a moment, and then goes, “Hmmmmm... yeah! That too, I suppose.”

Right about then, Dad gets a notification on his phone. He pulls it out, looks at it, gets a somewhat serious look on his face, and then stands up and says, “Hey, I gotta make a phone call real quick. Mind if I...” he trails off.

“Yeah, sure thing, Dad,” I say back. He heads down the hallway to the guest bedroom and closes the door as he makes his call. It’s now just Tulpa and me in the living room, and we were both feeling super awkward. I turn to Tulpa and say, “So... did you know anything about all that?”

Tulpa shook her head, “N-n-no. First time I... I ever heard of... of it.” I could tell she was feeling nervous. She had started stuttering pretty badly.

All this time, I knew Tulpa was an apparition, but I never thought about what kind of apparition she was. It never really dawned on me that an apparition could have an origin story. With Tulpa, she was just... kind of there for me, and I never really questioned it. Her being her somehow felt, I dunno... “natural”, I guess.

I never thought I really needed to learn more about Tulpa, anyway. I mean, outside of the occasional mischief, Tulpa was perfectly harmless. Worst thing she ever did was the Pinkening (still don’t know how she did that), but that was partly on me because I was being a big dummy. Overall, she’s always been friendly, kind, and fun to be around, and that‘s always been good enough for me.

“You, uh...” I start to say, “...want to talk about it later?” Tulpa looks ahead of her kind of blankly, and I immediately add, “It’s okay if you don’t want to, Tulpa, I just-“

“Talk about what?” She asks, now looking at me kind of confused.

“About...” I trail off as I try to find the right words, “...about what my Dad just said and about... I dunno... where you came from?”

Tulpa clearly hadn’t thought about it before. She leaned back against the couch and audibly sighed (I think that was the first time I ever heard them sigh!), before saying, “I... don’t know... Lily...”

“Don’t know where you came from, or don’t know if you want to talk about it?” I asked her.

She thought for a moment before saying, “Both...”

I wanted to say something more to her, maybe give them some kind of reassurance, but I just couldn’t as long as my Dad was here! The frustration of wanting to talk about something with someone, but not being able to because of other people being around, is just AGONIZING! If only Dad would hurry up and leave, but when he says he’s going to beat a video game, he’s going to beat a video game. Problem was he hadn’t even made it to Dracula’s Castle yet, so who knew how much longer it would be?

Then Dad comes back in and says, “Hey, sorry about this, but I need to get going.”

HAAAAAALLEJUAH!!!

“Oh sweet merciful powers that be, THANK YOU! “ I thought to myself. I was worried things were going to get all cringy like a bad self-insert fanfic. “Aww, that’s too bad,” I fibbed out of politeness. I mean, he’s my Dad and I love him and all, but... y’know...

“Yeah, I got a call from work and they need me to help out with something. ‘Fraid I have to cut my visit short, Lily.” My Dad powered off the Nintendo system and began packing it up. But then he suddenly stopped, looked up, then looked back at me and said, “Hey, you want to borrow my NES for a bit!?”

Dad suddenly leaving to take care of something for work happens every now and then, so that was no big surprise. But Dad suddenly saying he has to leave to take care of something and leave his NES in MY care!? THAT scared the pants off me!

“Oh my God, Dad... you’re not dying are you!?” I ask with a half-serious tone.

“What!? No! What gave you that idea!?” He shoots back.

“Because that’s the NES you’ve had ever since you were a kid! You have NEVER let anyone else look after it! EVER!” I remind him because it is one-hundred percent true.

His lame-sauce excuse was: “Hey, both of your uncles used to look after it!”

And then I remind him, “That’s because you all lived in the same house with grandma and grandpa! Y’know, because you were all kids and everything!”

“They still took care of it,” he pouts.

“Only after they sneaked into your room, de-hooked it, and snuck it over to their room! You know I’ve heard the stories at the family gatherings!, right?” This is all completely true.

————————————-

My Dad is the oldest of three, and at family gatherings, like around Thanksgiving, he and my uncles used to tell as many embarrassing stories about each other as possible like they were trying to one-up each other. Like, “Hey, remember that time you stuck a LEGO tire up your nose and had to go to the Emergency Room?”

And my uncle’s all like, “I WAS FOUR!”

Good times....

...now where was I?

Oh right! Why leaving the Nintendo was a big deal!

————————————-

“C’mon, Dad,” I plead, “The only way I can see you willingly giving away your Nintendo, even if just for a little while, would be if you were on your death bed and filling out your last will and testament. So go on, spill it, what’s up with that?”

My Dad just had this look of offense on his face like I had seriously wounded him with my words. “I am NOT that overprotective of it!”

“Yes you are.”

“Okay, I am,” he admits way too quickly, “but I just thought that you having it might be a good idea in case you finally get some free time coming up. Best way to enjoy it is to play it, after all.”

I chuckle, “Dad, the only way work is going to give me enough time off to sit on my butt and play video games is if some horrible catastrophe caused the art store to shut down. Like, I dunno, a deadly virus or something.”

[EDIT, APRIL 12th, 2020: ME AND MY BIG FAT MOUTH!

AAARRRRGGGHHHH!!!]

Dad chuckles and say, “Yeah... you got a point there. Still, I think between you and your roommate, you’re both responsible adults now who can get some enjoyment out of it. I’m sure I can trust you two to take good care of it,” he says before raising an eyebrow, “or is there some reason I shouldn’t leave it here!?”

“Relax! We can look after it, Dad. Nothing’s going to happen to it,” I say as I whip my head back so fast it could have made a sonic boom. Just as I suspected, there was Tulpa sitting down in front of the Nintendo about ready to poke it with her finger. “Isn’t that right, Tulpa?” I say while looking straight at her.

“Y-yes...” she mutters.

Dad smiles at the two of us and then suddenly, out of the blue, he gives me this big ole bear hug and pats me on the back! It’s the same kind of hug he gave me on my first day at school, when I was leaving for summer camp, and when I moved into my freshman dorm for college. It was the kind of reassuring hug that says everything is going to be fine. “Ohhhhhhh, look at you growing up and being all responsible! I’m so proud of you, Lily!”

“Dad! Can’t breath, Dad!” I say before he finally lets go.

“Oh yeah, tomorrow, when you get a chance, make sure to pick up a couple packages of toilet paper,” he says casually, “your bathroom’s running low and now would be a good time to stock up.”

[EDIT April 12th, 2020: HE FREAKING KNEW!

HOW!?!?!?]

“Thanks for the tip, Dad,” I respond before saying the thing that led to my Dad saying the other thing that would make my brain do somersaults for the next few hours and ultimately come to you, dear diary, “What brought up that little nugget of wisdom? Dad-ly Intuition?” (Yes, that pun was intentional.)

“Well I’ve always considered myself to be a little psychic here and there,” he says about twenty-three seconds before the door closes and forty-five seconds before my face faults, “and you’ve always been a little psychic too, haven’t yah?”

“Sure Dad, I’ll catch you later,” I say waving goodbye.

“Take care, Lily! Keep in touch! Love you, sweetie!” he calls back as he’s walking into the hallway heading out,

“Love you too, Dad” I say as I close the door and lock the deadbolt. With that family obligation out of the way, I was feeling much better not having to worry about next weekend, not having to worry about Tulpa and Dad, and could just chill and relax and-

It was right about then that my eyes shot wide open as I stared ahead of me at nothing in particular. The gears in my head started turning faster and faster as the past few months living here started to tie together. Tulpa looks at me, slightly concerned. She’s still in her “disguise”, but looks genuinely concerned. She waves her hand it front of me and my mind is working at warp speed, so it doesn’t even register.

“Are you... okay... Lily?” she asks.

I slowly turn to look her in the eye, and then ask her flat out:

“Am I Psychic!?”

#my roommate is an apparition #reddpenn

641 notes · View notes

nautiscarader · 3 years

Text

Year of the cow, or how I stopped worrying and loved the meme (BBRae)

Beast Boy's and Raven's relationship is truly one of the most subtle and emotional ones I have seen. There are lots of fantastically written fics which dive deep into characterisation and their nuanced, complicated emotions, showing complex colours of the spectrum of love.

Unfortunately, you have made a mistake clicking on one of my fics.

This is a birthday present for my buddy, ZekkKiray, and it revolves around a meme which I really found irritating... And I wondered how other characters might have reacted to it. Happy birthday, man!

yes, still half hour till midnight in my time zone, made it.

BBRae, 4k, E, (Ao3)

==========

As the Sun slowly hid on the horizon, Jump City, just like every city and town in the world, was slowly preparing for a glorious celebration. People were ready to welcome the new year with dances, parties and optimism encouraged by copious amounts of alcohol.

But not everyone was interested in partying and throwing caution to the wind. Five superheroes traversed the town's rooftops, watching over many celebrations, and ideal breeding grounds for crime, big or small.

Robin, Starfire, Cyborg, Raven and Beast Boy set out to patrol the city, to ensure that this momentous occasion won't be disturbed by any wrong-doer...

And quite quickly decided to join the party. Well, some of them. Robin sighed when he realised that his team has disbanded to join the crowd of onlookers, cheering and applauding the band on the colorful stage, that would soon be replaced by another group, hired just to play one or two hits for some quick cash.

Raven stayed to the side as well, keeping her eye not only at her friends, but the crowd, though her attention was suddenly caught by the dancers on the stage. Three women, dressed in black-and-white horned costumes, performing a synchronised dance, much to the delight of the audience.

- Er, and what exactly is that? Some sort of fad...?

- Oh, no, friend Raven! - Starfire was eager to explain - Robin has told me it's a Chinese calendar! And the Chinese have chosen an animal to represents each year, and...

- Oh, yeah, right. - Raven interrupted her - And lemme guess, this year's a cow?

- Ox, technically. - Robin chimed in - And it's not even started yet, it's based on a lunar one, so it will be somewhere in February.

Raven looked at the women in their silly costumes, dancing and playfully jiggling their fake udders and cow-bells to the beat of the music.

- Meh, whatever, it's gonna be over soon. Oh, by the way, this guys was pickpocketing. - Raven spoke nonchalantly, her shadow coiling around a burly man's throat.

By January fourth, however, Raven was seeing cows everywhere. Television, billboards, the internet... especially the internet. She felt as if it was a single-themed Halloween party that somehow stretched to a week.

And the boys weren't helping. While Robin remained reasonably level-headed, Cyborg and Beast Boy were having times of their lives, enjoying every single appearance of the costumes in real life, or in any media.

The worst thing was, Raven wasn't even sure why the fad irritated her so much. There were much more asinine things out there. But something about that fad was driving her nuts.

At the very least, there was Starfire, who sometimes was able to understand her.... or so Raven thought until she returned one day from the market with plastic cow-horns on her head a bell around her neck.

Raven groaned at the sight of his friend and stormed out of the common room, pushing away few streamers, still lingering after the new year's party.

She closed door to her room behind her and embraced the darkness and silence that allowed her to meditate and focus her powers...

And then she heard the faint jingling of the cowbells from behind the wall.

The purple flames on the candles around her shot up to the ceiling, as Raven tried to control her irritation.

She barked and grabbed her mirror, disappearing into her private void that extinguished the flames she ignited.

Raven walked down the floating rocks that paved her dimension, encased in darkness, illuminated by just few stars and distant galaxies. The ravens flew away in fear, as she glided forward, hoping to find some peace and quiet here...

- Hiya!

But of course, in this realm, she was never truly alone.

A woman dressed in pink jumped from behind a nearby rock, causing Raven to cease her movement just for a while, before she promptly decided to ignore her own emoticlone.

- Oh come on, you haven't been here for ages! - the jovial embodiment of happiness continued - We've been having SO much fun here!

- Great. Leave me alone.

But before she could react, Pink grabbed her and steered her off-path, flying down a different route, loudly announcing their presence.

- Hey guys. looks who's here! - she shouted, waving the arm she wasn't using to maneuver Raven between rocks.

- Oh, great, our big sister... - the Orange mumbled from behind a couch-shaped rock

- Have-have we done something wrong? - the timid Graphite pulled over her cloak

- Judging from your prolonged absence, something extraordinary must have happened. - Yellow interjected, eyeing Raven with curious stare.

Raven let out another groan.

- It's nothing. Leave me-

- Oh, is it about you-know-who?

Violet's sly and suggestive voice prompted Raven to pause mid-turn. her eye twitched.

- Ooh, very brave of you to tackle the most common problem of your visits! - Green added at once. - He can be annoying...

- I've said...

A blast of energy erupted around her, as Raven turned away, but couldn't finish her sentence. There was one emotion left, and she knew very well what can summon her, and it was already too late.

- Come on, say it.

Red spoke, gleaming with a subtle, yet unmistakeable triumph in her voice.

- I'm done with you. - Raven answered and continued her walk, before being predictably stopped again

- Oh sure, is this why you have almost brought me back? - she sneered - And for such petty reason...

- Ooh, tell us, tell us! - Pink chimed in, before being brought aside by Yellow

- Let me do it...

Red spoke and spread her arms, giving the other emoticlones chance to glimpse into what little she have seen.

- That... that is quite an insignificant reason to bring back *her* - Yellow judged - Are you sure it's adequate?

- I'm just afraid this will backfire... - Graphite meeped from behind her

- But I was right - Violet added - It is about him...

- ENOUGH!

Raven burst with energy, silencing her living emotions.

- We just want you to say it, so we can... help you.

The Red emoticlone stood in her way, finally making her stop. Her presence cast a shadow of fear on the lesser creatures of this realm, and even some other emoticlones that dared not to approach her. Red's voice was strangely polite, though Raven knew she must have an ulterior motive behind it.

- And you know what the answer to your problem is.

Anger reached her arm and waited for Raven's response. She couldn't meet her eyes. She was right, of course, but at the same time, embracing the violent and unpredictable part of her nature, reminding her of her father's legacy filled her with disgust...

- But you will not be alone with it. - Violet suddenly joined.

- And while it may look odd, this might be an opportunity to broaden your horizons. - Yellow continued.

- And let's face it, you've done weirder things, but you never cowered away! - Green shouted.

- Besides, it's gonna be so much fun! - Pink smiled.

Raven lifted her hood and looked at the other emoticlones, all awaiting her decision.

Knowing she's delaying the inevitable, with a heavy sigh, Raven made her decision.

===============

Garfield knew better not to interrupt Raven. He has made that mistake a few times in his life, and he still had his life only because Raven was his friend.

Still, seeing her angry was painful, thought not as much as the silent treatment he was getting from her. Beast Boy hesitated for a moment, and just before he was about to knock on her doors, he stopped himself.

With a sigh, he turned around and returned to his room, finding someone already inside.

At first, Garfield thought he was dreaming. But after a few blinks, he realised that the marvellous, dreamy sight in front of his eyes was real, and it made his heart skip a beat.

Raven's trademark, dark-blue attire was gone, replaced by a white costume dotted with black-and-brown spots. Her long legs were covered in fishnets with the same pattern, and as his eyes travelled up, he realised what was exerting the gravitational force that was pulling him that way...

The skin-tight costume had changed his perception, perhaps, but even then, Raven' nipples were just a fraction of an inch away from slipping, as her breast were simply too big to stay hidden in any article of clothing.

And when he looked at her horned head again, he noticed a faint smile on her face, contrasting so much with her demeanour over the past few days. She shifted her legs, spreading them slightly, giving him just a small tease of what was to come, and with her eyes fixated at him, she spoke.

- Moo, I guess.

- Oh, momma!

And before she knew it, Beast Boy leapt onto her with the grace and agility of a frog, diving between her enlarged breasts, and feeling the delicate, cushioning texture engulf his head almost entirely. And at the same time, with his fingers digging into the material, he freed Raven's breasts, hungrily kissing each square inch of her body as if his life depended on it.

- Gar... - Raven moans, feeling her boyfriend wriggling against her bosom

- I see someone has changed her mind...

- You can say that... - Raven replied, hiding the moan that was about to escape her lips.

- I guess you took Starfire's approach and visited the market? - Beast Boy joked, between his kisses - Or, wait, no, you ordered it online so no one will know, right?

- Let's just say I didn't have to order it...

For a moment, Beast Boy pondered the meaning of her words, until he realised that he has seen her outfit once before. Well, without the black-and-brown blots. And as the realisation dawned on him, he let out a gasp, as Raven's eyes glowed white.

Only one of the spots was brown. There was a pink, yellow, green one...

Her most powerful form, the combination of all of her emotions sat on his bed, emanating raw magical, warm energy that could easily vaporise him if she wanted to. Beast Boy suspected the horns weren't plastic either, and that he has just made a few snarky jokes to a demonic sorceress orders of magnitude more powerful than him.

And yet, she was still smiling.

- I just... - Raven swallowed - Couldn't stand you ogling all those cartoon anime girls on-line, in their stupid cow costumes. So I had to fight fire with fire.

- Aww... - Beast Boy cooed - Is my Raven jealous?

- YES. - the demon spoke in deep, rumbling voice that shook some of the objects on the shelves.

The spots on her White costumes suddenly glowed with ominous, red aura, as blood in Garfield's veins froze.

Her face was inches away from his, and only when she felt his hastened breath, she calmed down, and her spots returned to their original colours, just as the red aura disappeared from her eyes. She reached her hands and cupped his face, glad that he did not back away, as her anger overtook her. Their lips met, and Raven poured her apologies into him in a long, delicate kiss.

- And you will have to pay for it. - she smiled, giving Garfield clear sign she was everything under control, including him.

- Rae... - Garfield whined - You-you know I'd never... they... they don't mean anything...

- Then prove it.

Raven used the moment of hesitation to engulf him and with one sharp move of her hands and her magic, she ripped his clothes to shreds and brought her lover closer to her. With his shorts gone, Raven's eyes fixated on his cock, and had to restrain herself from licking her lips, as its head came closer and closer to her face. But of course neither of them would settle on just a blowjob, given the magic Raven cast upon herself.

Beast Boy jumped onto her breasts again, peppering them with plethora of hungry, ravenous kisses. Knowing already her bosom by heart, he know had a whole new territory to explore, and he did that with impeccable dedication. But as his lips closed around her nipple, he received a taste of something unexpected. His eyes widened, and met hers, as sweet substance made contact with his tongue. The sly smile on her lips remained, but as Beast Boy began lapping her milk, her face was torn with a new grimace he hasn't seen yet, and Raven was more than eager to experience.

Garfield moved from one nipple to the other, wishing he could transform into some creature with two heads. As Raven squirmed and moaned underneath him, he wondered what will happen soon, and with his hand manoeuvring between her thighs, he was determined to discovered that.

Her back arched, as his fingers reached her wet spot and slipped underneath her costume, just as his tongue coiled around her nipple again. Though she was trying to contain her emotions, the spots on her costume glowed in violet with each kiss and delicate move of his fingers against or inside her sex, and soon, Raven was thrashing underneath him, ready to burst.

And when she did, it was not with energy, but with milk that filled Beast Boy's mouth, in an act that surprised both of them.

Raven quaked for a few more minutes, coating his fingers with her juices he now lapped as eagerly as the new one she produced for him. Beast Boy made sure to wait until she was looking at him when he licked his lips, tasting both.

- Come'ere, I'm thirsty too... - she huffed, and settled herself amongst the pillows, ready to invite him.

Beast Boy let out a dreamy sigh, as his cock slid between her breasts, engulfing him completely with the delicate, heavenly texture only her breasts could provide. And when Raven gently pushed her mounds together, she added the missing part of friction, making Beast Boy throw his head back, even though he hasn't moved an inch.

But as he looked down at his girlfriend, he met her unusually frisky eyes, and with that, he flexed his muscles. Next thing she knew, his hands were on her horns, and he pushed his hips forward, diving deep into her bosom.

His action was a bit sudden and Raven's eyes opened wide when she realised that her head was pulled forward and that his twitching tip was now a fraction of an inch from her lips. And as she was about to open them, he pulled back and began his thrusts, mewling and moaning with each one, as pleasure slowly engulfed him.

He was in trance, brought by the alluring sight of his girlfriend and her magically enlarged bosom and thge reward they were leaking. And as Raven promised, she wanted one of her own: now, with every rapid thrust, her tongue lapped a drop or two of his pre-cum, in turn only generating more samples of what was to come. Raven was pretty sure what was his plan, but she opened her lips wide anyway, hoping to catch at least some of his oncoming climax.

- Rae...Rae... I LOVE YOU!

And with that proclamation, beast Boy dived balls-deep between her magically enlarged breasts, letting her warmth and size cover them as well, which only strengthened his orgasm. Raven yelped when the first stream of his seed flooded her mouth, and closed her mouth just in time to suck a bit more, even though she knew what was the sight he wanted to see.

As he pulled back, his cock was still twitching, spurting more and more of his virility in the valley between her mounds, until it slowly started to spill down, glazing her breasts with the sticky proof of his devotion.

And just as he thought he has seen it all, Raven dragged her finger across her breasts, hoping to catch as much of his cum as possible before it all drips to the bed. she parted her fingers to show the sticky strands between them before she closed her lips around them and made him collapse to his back from the simple act of tasting him.

- That was fun - she spoke, as most of his seed made it to her lips. - But you know what every cow needs, right?

Raven asked, lapping the last bit of cum from her tits. She leaned forward and with the same low, salacious tone as before, whispered the words that Beast Boy already had on his mind.

- Her bull...

His green body grew in a split of second, transforming him, but not in the form of the animal Raven expected. While his head became elongated and grew bovine horns, his torso and arms remained human, though much more muscular, and only the addition of hooves on his legs and a tail truly made her realise what he was now: a minotaur.

But of course, hooves and tail was not what piqued Raven's interest the most, as her eyes looked down at the figure towering over her.

This time, she could not stop herself and her lust; Raven licked a small droplet of drool that formed on her lips, and reached her hand to experience the enormous, throbbing organ whose glistening head was now once more inches away from her lips.

But her lover didn't want another blowjob. As steam-like cloud escaped his nostrils, Beast Boy grabbed her and effortlessly slammed her onto his cock, watching as the sorceress lets out a silent moan.

When he went down on her, Raven tried to maintain at least some dignity. But now, as her sex was filled completely with his monstrous cock, she threw all of the pretence away and babbled her lover's name, while the blots on her costume pulse violet each time his cock reached her depths, time after time, depraving her of common sense, as bliss slowly overtook her mind.

But not until she has managed to speak one last wish.

- D-Do what you are supposed to!

Raven screamed, her voice vibrating with the erratic thrusts her entire body was subjected to.

- Mate me! Breed me!

Another roar escaped his mouth, and Raven took a gasp of air just in time to expel it, as Beast Boy shoved himself deeper inside her throbbing pussy that before, firmly positioning himself as far as possible, right against her core, he now bathed in first deluge of his seed. And with his thick, monster cock forming an air-tight seal, not a drop of his virility could leak out, and was forced up into her womb. What would have been impossible for any other man became a child's play for him, letting Raven experience the impossible.

And with the flood of his warm seed filling her, came her orgasm, making Raven thrash around his cock, as if she was a puppet on his mercy. With each wave that flooded and promptly overflowed her sex, came a new sensation of being filled and claimed, and in turn, each simultaneously extinguished fire in her loins, and set it anew...

At some point, Raven fell back to the bed, feeling her pussy pulse with each after-wave of her climax, while Beast Boy's seed oozed onto the bed. She wasn't sure how long her after-glow lasted, but she knew what brought her back to her senses.

Her breasts were kissed again, with the same tender and care the minotaur would never learn. Beast Boy was his regular self, taking care of her body his monstrous form has neglected, listening to her breath slowly becoming less and less erratic.

She looked up and their eyes met, while Garfield locked his lips around her nipple again, drinking her orgasm.

- Hey.

- Hey. - she replied - I guess people were right, those cow costumes do work.

- Rae, you could dress like a platypus and you'd be sexy.

Raven smiled, and her hand reached to her lover's cheek, prompting him to leave her nipple.

Their lips met again, and though she thought she would be tired by now, she welcomed him again, especially as his hands now roamed her thighs and ass.

She let out another moan, seemingly far louder than a moment before, but maybe it was because her voice wasn't drowned by the beast's low grunts, but Garfield's borderline cute huffs.

And even though he was now much shorter and thinner than before, somehow Raven felt fuller than when a giant minotaur ravaged her. Maybe it was his kisses, dotting her breasts and lapping her milky fluid, maybe it was his delicate, but steady grip of his hands on her thighs... or maybe it was the unspoken promise they mentioned...

As they kept coming closer, the empath suddenly grabbed his cheeks and pulled him against her, not to kiss, but to find emotions raging in his mind. And she found them - those of love, protection, dedication and responsibility, which easily pushed her to the edge...

She cried out his name just as he flooded her again, this time with his essence, and even though Raven knew it was impossible, she somehow felt the difference in warmth that filled her sex.

As the two breathed in the same air, Raven gently moved her hand between her body, feeling the warmth of his body above her, and his cock and seed inside. She could undo the spell right now, and change their lives forever... And she had to admit, it would be a very apt moment... but then again, she would rob them of many, many heated moments like these.

It's a good thing she buddied up with Yellow as much as with Violet for this ride.

The two lay ion each other's arms for quite some time, savouring each other's scents and warmth, until Raven found strength and motivation to speak.

- So, got any more silly internet memes trending?

Beast Boy smiled and reached for his phone.

=============

Winter this year was snow-less, rainy and mild, like for the past half a decade or so. But that only made the New Year's eve less cumbersome, as it meant less time traversing through mounds of snow. Plus, it meant the Titans' Tower rooftop wasn't off limits.

- I thought this place, at this time would be the worst to meditate. - Beast Boy spoke - The whole sky's gonna be on fire in five minutes.

- Yeah, but maybe I wanted to watch.

He sat next to her, listening to far-away sounds of concerts and premature celebration. He scooted a few inches closer to her, and let out a short meep when her cape covered him.

- I wonder what this year will bring us. - he spoke, ruining the quiet, charming moment.

- I do - Raven answered quickly. - This year is gonna be of the tiger.

Raven spoke and undid a button of her cape that joined the two, freeing her breasts. Beast Boy swallowed loudly, seeing the moonlight shining onto her skin, and making her bosom look bigger with no additional magic required.

- Why don't we practice, kitty?

And with that, the night's air was filled with a powerful roar of a predator cat that has just found its very willing prey.

#bbrae #lemon #aged-up characters and all that #nautiscaraderfics

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k-llama-llama · 5 years

Text

First Encounter

Everglow AU: 7th member

Mya/Enya x Everglow

Mya meets Yuta...with some interesting results.

A/N: ALSO CHECK OUT MY PATREON FOR ACCESS TO EXCLUSIVE CONTENT AND EARLY ACCESS (patreon.com/kllamallama)

Requests are OPEN!!!

Masterlist and other Follow Me links in bio!

“You need anything else?”

“Nope, all good.” Mya handed off her ridiculous fur jacket to the stage hand, continuing to make her way backstage. Sihyeon had let her in on the a secret, that there was a staff only kitchen that the idols could borrow snacks from, and she planned on taking full advantage of it.

She’d been invited to guest host, and with that came her own little solo stage. It was just a two minute rap performance, with some basic choreography. They were performing to empty crowds, but Mya had still tried to look her best. For her, that meant a purple mini skirt and matching bandeau top. The orange fur jacket had fit the vibe perfectly, but under the stage lights it was ridiculously hot, so she was glad to be rid of it.

Tugging on the end of one of her blonde pigtails she made her way down the hall, heels clicking as she left the busy area behind and headed into the back halls.

“Sihyeon said left...or did she say right?” Mya cursed herself, assuming her Korean skills had once again robbed her of snacks.

“Shit...this stupid...what am I...”

Hands still twisting her pigtails, Mya peeked her head into a doorway, following the sound of the curses. She looked into what looked like a standard dressing room, empty except for one figure flailing around in the middle of the room. His black shirt was pulled up over his head, tangled with the cords of his mic packs as he tried to untangle himself.

A giggle escaped her.

The figure paused. “Is someone there?”

Caught, Mya decided to at least make herself useful. “Um, yeah. Do you need help?”

“Yes please.” She was pretty sure that the man was slumping in relief. “It’s just, the cord is just wrapped around -”

“I can see it, let me.”

Mya kicked off her shoes and made her way into the room, walking over to the man. He was a lot taller than her, and twisted as she approached.

Mya laughed again. “Just stay still, I’ll just unplug the chord.”

“Thanks. I really thought I was going to die in here and I’m supposed to be backstage in ten minutes.”

“No problem.” Mya unplugged the mic pack from where it was attached to the waistband of his pants, and then reached up to unwind the chord from around the neck of his shirt. “I think I’ve got it.”

“Awesome, thank you.” The boy pulled his shirt over his head and turned around. “I really don’t...oh my god.”

Mya blinked up at him, wondering if it would be weirder to keep staring that the shirtless boy or to look away. He was infuriatingly attractive, so she was inclined to do the first, but also he looked really flustered.

“I...I’m so sorry.” He reached for a robe, pulling it on. “I can’t...where’s the tie for this...I’m sorry I thought you were one of the staff. I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay.” Mya said quietly. “I’m happy to help.”

“Still, you didn’t ask for me to - never mind.” He gave her an awkward smile. “Um, I’m Yuta.” She blinked, recognizing the name as a member of NCT. But she’d never laid eyes on him and certainly hadn’t recognized him with a shirt over his head.

“Oh, I’m Mya.” She held out her hand.

He reached for it.

“NO!” She shouted.

He jumped back, clutching his hand to his chest. “What?”

“No, I’m...I’m sorry. I’m not Mya, I’m Enya.” She held her hand out again. “I didn’t mean to shout.”

He carefully shook her hand, looking at her wearily. “Do you not know your name?”

“Enomoto Mya was my name when I promoted with X1.” She explained. “Now I’m with Everglow, so it’s just Enya.”

“Ah, you combined them.” He nodded, before his eyes widened. “Wait, Enomoto? You’re from Japan?”

Mya nodded. “Yeah, why?”

“Because I’m Nakamoto Yuta!” He exclaimed in rapid Japanese.

“Oh, that’s cool!” Mya switched easily into her native language, grinning. “I never get to speak Japanese, unless I’m hanging out with...you know, never mind.” She stopped herself before she gave unnecessary details, as she was prone to do.

“I didn’t realize Everglow was performing today.”

“We aren’t. I’m the guest host, so I had a solo stage.” She explained. “I’m sure I’ll see you later when we do the winner announcement. I...obviously knew you guys were performing today.”

“Yeah,” He rubbed the back of his neck. His robe was still undone, so Mya kept her gaze aimed up at his face. “I was trying to get my mic off after our practice when you...well...kinda saved me.”

She laughed. “That’s me, always happy to help.” She looked down at her feet.

He looked down too, and then blinked. “Do you not have shoes?”

“I took them off.” She moved back over to the door, picking up the discarded heels. They were bright orange and easily three inches tall, and Yuta took a step back when she held them up.

“See why I didn’t want to wear them?” She laughed.

“Yeah.” He tilted his head to look at them. “Those are worse than the ones they make YinYin wear.”

“YinYin?”

“The only girl in NCT. She’s tiny too, but she doesn’t have to dance in them because she does flips. Do they make you dance in those?”

“No one has ever called me a dancer, so the least I can do is walk pretty and grow a few inches.”

“You aren’t that short though.” He said, even though it was a complete lie.

There was a tentative moment of silence.

“Did that hurt?” Mya finally asked.

“The mic? No, thought I might strangle myself but -”

“No, that.” She pointed.

Only thing was, he was standing a lot closer than she thought, so when she went to point at his belly button she found herself with her index finger resting just above his piercing.

His mouth opened a little. “Um, yeah...I mean...no, not really.”

“Oh.” She pulled her hand back, wishing she had sleeves to hide her hands in. “I wanted to get mine done.”

“Well, it might um...hurt you.” He finished lamely.

“Why would it hurt you and not me?” She looked up at him. He leaned closer, practically standing right above her. Mya just looked down, poking her own belly button through the fabric of her skirt.

“I’m...I have a high pain tolerance.”

“So do I.” She looked straight up at him, meeting his gaze.

“Then you should get it.” He offered a tight smile. “I’m sure it would look good.”

“I know, right?” Mya smiled. “I just need to convince one of the girls to go with me and hold my hand.”

“I could.” He swallowed. “Go with you, I mean.”

Mya wasn’t sure what came over her, but some evil spirit encouraged her to give a little pout. “What, you wouldn’t hold my hand?”

She was pretty sure that Yuta stopped breathing.

“I could do that.” He finally said, his tone quiet.

She gave a tiny smile. “Well then, if I work up the courage to do it, I’ll give you a call.”

“Please do.” He whispered.

“What?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head to clear it. “Do you have kakao?”

“I do.” She nodded. “I don’t have my phone on me though, there’s no pockets in this outfit.”

“I have mine.” He pulled it off of the dressing table, opening the app and holding it out to her. “Just enter your name.”

She typed quickly fingernails clicking against the screen. “There you go.” She handed his phone back to him.

“Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.” She gave a little laugh.

They stared at each other for a few seconds, neither of them quite sure where to go from there.

“You have to be on stage in like five minutes.” Mya finally said.

“And you need to get ready to MC.” He added.

Mya nodded. “I’ll see you later?” She turned towards the door, still carrying her shoes.

“Yeah.” He reached for the black shirt he was supposed to wear. “Mya? I mean, can I call you Mya, or do you prefer Enya?”

“Call me whatever you want.” She flipped a pigtail behind her shoulder, and then gestured to his phone. “Or whenever you want.”

“Right.” He breathed.

“Good luck, Yuta.” She spun, walking out of the room.

“Good luck.” He was so quiet she almost didn’t hear him.

The second she was out of the room, Mya lifted a hand to her cheek. Sure enough, she was hot, and could only imagine how red her face was. She had no idea what had just happened, or what had come over her, only that she was pretty sure that she was happy about it.

“What took you so long?” Sihyeon asked when she entered the dressing room. “Weren’t you going to the kitchen?”

“Hmmm?” Mya sat down in her chair, looking into the mirror as she started to undo her hair. “I decided not to.”

“Aw,” Sihyeon frowned. “I wanted snacks.”

“I found one.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” Mya said quickly. “Give me my queue cards so I know what to say.”

“We’re introducing NCT next, think you can manage?”

Mya snorted. “I know I can.

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chemicalpink · 4 years

Text

Take a Selfie, Fake a Life ♡ Park Jimin x Reader

Pairing: Jimin x Reader Genre: PURE fluff (like, really) and a pinch of angst Word Count: 3.2k Warnings: Jimin is a broken boy, parents divorce, bi Jimin (thats not a warning but he does kinda unintentionally come out and is afraid) Summary: Park Jimin is most probably the most popular guy on campus, top student, dancing extraordinaire, Instagram star, except there is no depth to his life at all. There is only so much a camera lens can capture. A/N: Hello. I didn’t intend on writing this as it came out. I have a severe case of writers block in the middle of a depressive episode but nevertheless I liked how it turned out. Please enjoy!

Everybody knows Park Jimin. Even if they don’t, everyone has heard of Park Jimin. That’s the first thing you come to learn in your first year in college.

Truth be told, you first encounter Jimin during some maths class when you were both fifteen. It wasn’t exactly your class, but the school had decided to hold an academic competition and you just so happened to run against perfect scholar Park Jimin, head of the student council, first place in the semestral talent show and prom king two times in a row.

All it took for you to break down his perfect facade was some stupid trigonometry question and being a mere two seconds faster at answering it than him.

News flash: Park Jimin was not the perfect student he appeared to be.

To say that you became non-existent to him was an understatement, he had somehow recovered from the slip two months later by becoming first place on a national elite math competition.

Not that you paid much attention to his life, but it was somehow hard to miss as years went by and he became a regular topic on campus while on college. Everybody knows Park Jimin. Even if they don’t, everyone has heard of Park Jimin.

It was indeed hard to miss the hallway gossiping about how Park Jimin turned down Korea’s National Ballet, or how Park Jimin just got a whole another thousand followers on his Instagram because he made it into yesterday’s Dua Lipa’s Instagram story while both of them were in some exclusive bar, but you’ve come to know better than base your opinions on said man because of his social media, there is only so much a camera lens can capture; even after his unmentioned cold shoulder of five years, you had come to be a first-hand witness to his parents’ daily fights just outside your bedroom window, leading to their divorce and Jimin’s’ signature house parties just hours after he had cried himself to sleep; it wasn’t that you were nosy, but some things were just hard to miss.

The shrine in which Park Jimin had found himself making a new home after leaving the one beside your own, the one that everybody had him on and paid their respects blinded by follower numbers on screen and price tags on the outfits he wore to school were all made of lies.

To put it simply, Park Jimin’s life was utter bullshit but you seemed to be the only one completely aware of it.

“I could maybe, you know, talk to him for you if you’d like” Taehyung suggested as you both waited for your respective drinks after the partner lists for the campus seminar came out from the dean’s office, Park Jimin, Y/LN Y/N printed on the second to last sheet of paper, just above the terms and conditions of no change under any circumstances.

“Tae, I have no problem talking to him, really, he just likes to pretend like I don’t even exist” you said to your friend as he made a face that you knew was his way of asking for more information on the topic, a topic which you had been avoiding for the last year since you had told him you shared a past with the guy “I guess I’ll just drop by his dorm once classes are over, then he’ll just have to talk to me”

“Come on, Y/N-ie, just tell me already… did you guys used to date?”

“You’re his friend, why don’t you pester him with these questions instead of me?” you retorted as you passed him his drink and took a sip out of yours, grimacing at the temperature of it

“I tried,” he said “But he denies even knowing you”

You hum in acknowledgement as you both begin walking out of the café, your phone dinging as a way to let you know that you had a new notification on your social media, a message request from non-other than the devil himself, Jimin.

“Hey so, we’ll catch up later yeah?” Tae says, stopping while you still have your phone in hand “Let me know how it goes with your ex-boyfriend!”

“He’s not my ex!” you shout at him but he is already dashing down the sidewalk, opposite to you.

Jimin [just now]: hey Jimin [just now]: drop by my dorm in 10 You [just now]: oh wow, he talks! You [just now]: why don’t you drop by my dorm in 10 Jimin [just now]: I have an image to take care of, Y/N You [just now]: well so do I You [just now]: let’s meet at the library in 10 Jimin [just now]: fine.

─── ･｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

“You know, you could at least abid to common etiquette and take your glasses off while we’re in the library,” you said as you continued tapping on your computer as a good five minutes went by after Jimin made it half an hour late to your study date “Plus, it’s rude from you to turn away while I’m talking to you”

“Just go on about what I should do for the project and I’ll make sure to deliver it before the deadline”

“And here I thought you actually deserved the valedictorian from high school,” you said as you closed your laptop and pressed your hands together in a sarcastic manner before exhaling heavily “Just tell me already what your problem with me is, we’ll work it out before beginning the project”

Silence took over the table for a few seconds before someone walked up to him and they greeted each other exchanging a few words and you just smiled their way “I don’t know what you’re talking about”

“Square up, Park. We’ll either talk it out or we’ll punch each other until it all goes away”

“Listen just- let’s get this over with so we can go back to pretending we don’t know each other”

A few days after your first meeting in the library, things slowly started to work since you had accidentally dm him a meme that was meant for Taehyung, now working together through a shared drive and a few other meetings in the library when you both had time off after classes.

You were slowly woken from your sleep as a faint knocking sound kept lingering from somewhere, turning on your bed to look at your phone that signalled 2:23 am, you made your way to your dorm door, peaking through the peephole to see none other than Jimin waiting outside, dishevelled hair, oversized hoodie and laptop in hand.

“What the fuck are you doing here?” you hissed at him as your eyes tried to shield out the light coming from the hall “Do you even know what time it is?”

“Hello to you too, Y/N,” he said as he took a seat on the small desk chair beside your bed “I just had this idea stuck in my head for the project”

“And it couldn’t have waited, I don’t know, until the morning?”

“Not really” he turned to face his laptop as he began explaining out his idea to you, your mind not really processing the words that left his mouth but fixating on his face instead, from the way he stopped whatever he was saying every few seconds to lick his plump lips, to how his eyes shined with bright interest as his hands emphasised his words, a soft aura around him that made you wonder if you were to capture the moment, it would stand out from any other pic he currently had on his feed, even when in sweats and dark circles around his eyes, this was the first time you had truly seen Park Jimin shining because of who he was in the moment rather than who he was trying to be.

Your eyes shot open and your heart skipped a few beats as you felt an unfamiliar weight above your middle as you turned to be face to face with the owner of the hand that held you cuddled close, the same soft aura surrounding him as your mind once again wandered off; even though your relationship with Jimin was difficult and borderline uncomfortable as it was, over the days it had somehow become weirder, no doubt more uncomfortable now that you both were found cuddling against each other in your tiny dorm bed, how the night before he had appeared in your door to tell you about his input for the project only to have him dozing off a few minutes after on the desk when you had offered him to share your bed for a nap until his mind could get him back to his own dorm, which clearly did not happen as he was currently asleep beside you.

“Jimin” you nudged him a bit as he stirred and whined in protest “Jimin you should get back to your dorm before class”

He opened his eyes reluctantly but almost jumped at the sight of you both tangled together in bed “Oh god I’m so sorry, I really fell asleep”

You smiled a forced smile at him “yeah… no problem though”

He was quick to stretch around and bid you goodbye with a slight pink tint on his face before disappearing out the door and you slumped against your bed groaning. Sure, Jimin is quite a sight to see, he is one of the most handsome men you’ve come across, but having known him for five years, with most of the time barely talking to each other, to suddenly cuddling together over the night had your mind and heart racing. Which it shouldn’t. Because he had made it clear on the first day that after the project was done, you both would go back to how it all was before. Whatever happened in between were just… occupational hazards.

One thing that came with Park Jimin was the gossip. In exchange of thousands of followers, he had to practically give up his privacy, almost as if he was some kind of celebrity, the juicier the gossip promised to be, the faster it expanded around campus, the easier people got a hold of his most intimate moments, which you came to learn sooner than later, with Taehyungs’ text attached to a set of pictures of Jimin walking out of your dorm adorned with an overlayed white text that read ‘Walk of shame on a school night’ and a few flashing gifs. Which you guessed he saw since he didn’t contact you for the rest of the week.

The next time you saw Jimin wasn’t exactly planned. The university had sent off a few invitations to some fancy diner just outside campus to be attended by a previously selected group of students representing their majors, amongst them, obviously, Park Jimin.

A few hours into the night, and more than a few cocktails after, you had seen most of your classmates leaving except for a certain blond one that you had seen take off to the balcony, which you approached “Jimin? I’m heading home do you want me to-oh” his hands were placed around the middle of another man as his lips trace his exposed skin, Jimin turning to face you in surprise, heat rising to his cheeks as you turned your leave

“Y/N wait!” he called after you, his shoes clicking just mere seconds after your own as you made it towards the door until his hand grabbed your wrist to turn you around “Y/N…”

“It’s- nothing Jimin, really, you and I aren’t even a thing” you smiled at him and even though the words you spoke were true, you couldn’t help the clenching of your heart at the sight you had just encountered “I’m heading to campus if you wanna share a ride”

His eyes scanned your face, hand never leaving his grip on your wrist as he took out his phone with his free hand to call an Uber and taking both of you outside to wait as your mind raced a hundred miles per second about the whole thing.

The whole ride was silent, even though you ached to ask him why in the hell would he call a whole SUV for the two of you on a 10-minute ride back, but you came to figure it had to do with something about his ‘image’. He was kind enough to walk you back to your dorm building, despite you advising against it, given the photos from a few weeks before that had him separating from you “Listen, Y/N” he whispered as you turned to him before the glass door “I need to ask for a favour”

You just hummed in acknowledgement for him to go on “What you saw tonight… no one can know I’m into guys”

That just about did it. You’ve known Park Jimin for five years, you’ve seen his parents’ marriage dissolve right before your eyes, no doubt he knew about it, yet he somehow thought of you as some telltale, you held his whole real-life secrets in your hands, none of his social media, selfie-induced lifestyle.

“There’s nothing bad about being gay, Jimin,” you said back in a whisper, on your last sanity thread you could muster

“I’m not gay” his eyes fixed on the floor beneath him as he absentmindedly played with his shoes “I’m bisexual”

“Yeah so, is that another relatable thing for you to post on your social media? Or are you actually being true to yourself for once?” his gaze fixated on you as if you were spitting venom at him “Don’t worry about it, Jimin, just don’t ever contact me again. Your secret is safe with me. Just like all those years ago”

You were slowly making your way back home after one of your firsts nights out with some friends when out of the corner of your eye you catch a glimpse of an all too familiar silhouette, seated cuddled up in one of those comfortable café couches was none other than Park Jimin, lips brushing against this other guys’ you knew from school, a few years older, Min Yoongi, hands held together and as you subtly tried not to stare, you couldn’t help but feel happy for him since he seemed genuinely happy in the moment, something you thought he deserved, given the whole ordeal going on back at home.

You didn’t think much of it at the time; sure, it was kind of frowned upon in such a small and closed-minded place like Busan, and you wouldn’t even dare to think about the hell that would rise if high school heartthrob Park Jimin turned out to like guys, but Jimin seemed like the type to place his happiness first.

Up until during one of those tedious dominical women-only Sunday brunches your mother had started to bring you to, Jimin’s mother approached you for small talk.

“So how was yesterday’s date?” the teasing tone she was using throwing you off at first but everything seemed to click at once. Jimin’s mother had always not so subtly hinted at her son that she would love to have you as her in-law, with Jimin just brushing off the comments whenever she came up with them at one of your gatherings, going as far as setting you up as her son’s plus one to a family Christmas dinner.

Jimin had just told his mother he was going out with you to hide the fact that he was going out with a boy.

And it somehow felt like your responsibility to cover up for the boy next door with the broken home, as if the happiness you had seen him exude when you saw him kissing that boy depended on your ability to lie right there and then. And you did.

Park Jimin stayed true to your wish and didn’t even attempt to contact you for the next week or so, you could see him occasionally writing his assigned part on the drive for your final project, his social media as dead as it could get, which quickly aroused questions on his well being plus some questionable rumours once he wasn’t seen around campus for three days in a row like how he had probably just gone studying abroad, but somehow, deep down you knew better. You didn’t know the Park Jimin that was the constant talk of the campus, no, but you knew perfectly well the Park Jimin from a broken home that likes to spend his days inside and cry it all out.

Once your final grade came back with a perfect score, and Jimin had completely missed the revision session, you found yourself walking to his dorm to share the news on your joint efforts.

The first three times you knocked on the door there was no answer, until the fifth one a messy-haired, shirtless Park Jimin opened the door with swelled eyes and pouty lips

“I’m sorry” you blurted out

“You have nothing to be sorry about, I was kind of asking too much of you” he mumbled, lips trembling as he stayed close to the door

“Jimin” you reached your arm to him, in an attempt to comfort him “I am in no place to validate your sexuality, nor am I one to go around telling people who you love, I guess…” you breathed in an attempt to calm your racing mind and trembling lips that threatened to sob “I guess I just want you to be happy for who you are, not who you let others see”

“Y/N…”

“No, just please listen, it’s been years, I want you to know that all those things I’ve kept to myself are in no way meaning that you are somehow indebted to me, I did it because you seemed happier that way” his hand came up to hold yours, softly caressing it as he motioned for you to come in and take a seat next to him on the couch

“Y/N you’ve been there for so long, through more bad times than good ones I guess” you both giggled at that “And I’ve been so ungrateful for it. If someone is to thank for the way I’ve been able to live this fake dream life I thought I wanted, it’s you, Y/N”

There was a long moment of silence where he kept on playing with your hand in his, and unspoken shared remembrance of all the times you were a silent witness he knew he could find solace in until he broke the silence.

“It’s true, you know?” you raised your head to meet his eyes in a questioning look “that I’m bisexual”

You smiled at his words “What is that supposed to mean, Jimin?”

Suddenly his small smile faded and he drew closer to your face, his hand coming up to reach your cheek and caress it a few times, his eyes fixed on your lips, waiting for you to lean into him the way he did “It means, Y/N, that these past few weeks I’ve been happier than I ever thought I could be, with you” he pecked your lips for a second “Because of you”

#bangtanarmynet #networkbangtan #bts imagines #bts imagine #jimin imagine #park jimin imagine #jimin imagines #jimin fluff #bts fluff #park jimin fic #park jimin fanfic #park jimin x reader #jimin x y/n #park jimin one shot #jimin oneshot

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queenofbaws · 4 years

Note

Howdy on this wonderful December weekend. May I have six sentences of Josh, Chris, and Ash dragging Sam to a gaming convention? And they're all cosplaying Dragon Age characters to hilarious effect.

Sam wasn’t the type to get embarrassed easily, but this...this wasn’t exactly, uh...well suffice it to say it wasn’t her scene, what with everyone walking around the convention center like it was Halloween (only weirder), a few people done up so expertly that she had to figure they were professional costume artists, but most going about in streaked body paint and costumes that seemed to be made up from scattered pieces found on the floors of their closets.

The photos were the worst, though...oh, the pictures were bad, because it seemed like every five minutes their group was being stopped, someone wanting to get a picture with them. ...okay, wanting to get a picture with Ashley or Josh, to be more specific - she’d had them both explain who or what they were supposed to be like twenty times by then (“Um, okay, so Leliana’s a bard, but that’s not like...it’s not in the sense ‘bard’ is usually used,” Ash would say every time, adjusting the odd sunburst-patterned mantle on her shoulders, only to turn to Josh and mutter something about ‘Zevran’ or ‘Dorian’ before he could shrug her off, explaining coolly that “I’m sorry, if no one else was going to Rule 63 Isabela, then obviously the job was going to fall to me.”)

During the ninetieth such time, she plucked at her own outfit, the getup mostly browns and creams, and fixed Chris with a look so wrought with exhaustion and confusion that it nearly knocked the bottle of soda from his hands. “I still don’t get it,” she sighed, “Who are we supposed to be again?”

He patted her shoulder before leaning in, gesturing broadly with one hand; “Every game needs background characters, Sam...people who just stand around and say vague shit like ‘Maker’s breath’ or ‘Blasted darkspawn’ or ‘Don’t you go touchin’ that now, y’hear...’ and that’s us, so just do what I do, okay, stare off into the distance, wave every now and then at someone who’s absolutely not there, and then do everything in your power to glitch into the nearest wall.”

six sentence sat(or)sunday!!!

#wacem #queenie writes supermassive #ask and YE SHALL RECEIVE #i need everyone to know that i didnt even think about this - i did not run through characters - in my heart i knew #oh i knew #GOD I MISS DRESSING UP AND GOING TO CONS!!!!!!!#I HAVENT BEEN ABLE TO MAKE A FOOL OF MYSELF IN PUBLIC FOR SO LONG #I WANT TO BUY A PITCHER FULL OF DICE!!!!!!!!#six sentence weekend

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itsbenedict · 3 years

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Two-Faced Jewel: Session 2

Zero and @eternalfarnham are Looseleaf and Saelhen du Fishercrown, a mothfolk animist and a half-elf conwoman. A botched heist forces Saelhen to keep up her fake identity and embark on a quest to places unknown, with Looseleaf to keep a watchful compound eye on her. This time, they prepare to set out for the jungle city of Thunderbrush.

[Campaign log]

It's less than a week after the incident with the pit under Yoshimimoto Plaza. Looseleaf returns to school with Saelhen in tow, and Looseleaf's roommate Oyobi spends some time training them up in basic monster self-defense- the two of them are now level 2! Saelhen gains a Cunning Action, and Looseleaf embarks on the Path of the Mutable Spirit. (There's no combat this session, so more on that later.)

In spending some time with Looseleaf's roommate, Saelhen picks up on... certain nuances.

looseleaf: what you know about your roommate is that she is very friendly and outgoing. the reason she's barely home most of the time is that she's always out partying or fighting or otherwise living it up on campus, and she's pretty well-known and popular amongst the student body. she's technically Martial Arts but takes a few Natural Arts classes, including your archaeology class. she wants to be an adventurer and join the Deathseekers' Guild, and she's taking multiple periods of Severe Zoology to learn to fight monsters. she thinks you in particular are adorable and has probably invited you to various social gatherings. she seems kind of spacey and unreliable, though, and doesn't seem to take you seriously.

saelhen, what you know about looseleaf's roommate is that she a freak nobody else seems to pick up on this, since there's not a lot of other elves at Blacksky, but you can tell from the way she wears her clothes and how she interacts with strangers to the uninformed observer, her fashion sense is sort of rugged and sporty and normal to an elf, her usual outfits are the equivalent of going around dressed in torn booty shorts, a spiked choker, and an ahegao t-shirt she is very obviously making a statement, and that statement is "i can do whatever i want, and if you have a problem with that you can [insert grossly offensive euphemism here]" her super-smiley friendly attitude is clearly part of this- she is breaking every single rule in the elf book, going right for the friendship throat in every social interaction and ignoring every single nicety that's supposed to precede friendly contact she acts a little different around you- like, she expects you to be in on the joke she's playing on everyone around her. she'll say something seemingly innocuous that's a actually a horrendous boundary violation in Kanzentokai, and then look at you with an expectant smile, to see if you appreciated the hilarious prank she just pulled. being around her is like being in the studio audience for a cringe comedy sitcom

Why are we learning so much about Oyobi? Well, partially because I can't help but overthink every single bit character, but also for reasons that'll become clear shortly.

After a few days, Saelhen and Looseleaf are invited to the Provost's office, up at the top of Blacksky Tower. (Ominous sort of place, for a faculty building- hewn out of a single chunk of sparkling black stone, oldest building on campus.) They are not invited to sit- the office contains no chairs.

Provost Hamori Los has good news for them! The people she's had secretly monitoring Saelhen for the past few days- did she forget to mention that?- have determined, by triangulation, that the arrow on Saelhen's bracer is currently pointing in the direction of Thunderbrush, deep in the giant-spider-infested jungle. So that where they'll be going, on a fun field trip!

Looseleaf could not be happier about this. Or less happy. She's really got precisely the amount of unhappiness that she's obligated to feel about giant spiders, being a giant moth.

Luckily, they won't have to trek through the jungle- Hamori has arranged for transportation via the ferry at the town of Cauterdale, which should allow them to bypass a treacherous trek into the depths of the Remoline Rainforest. They'll each be provided 100gp as funding for this academic enterprise- and Headmaster Goodcrest of Thunderbrush Metropolitan University has agreed to provide lodging for them on arrival. Everything is handled for them- so there shouldn't be any problems!

There is one more thing, though- all the different schools want in on this trip, so one school doesn't get all the credit. They're required to bring along a representative from the School of Arcane Arts and the School of Martial Arts, on top of Looseleaf from Natural Arts. And on top of... the representative from the School of Restricted Arts.

This dude is named Vayen, and he's not much for conversation. Or explaining what he's even doing here. Or doing anything besides skulking a careful distance away from the party, staring and listening. What does the School of Restricted Arts even study, again?

Anyway, Looseleaf has someone in mind from Martial Arts, so she leads the party to the School of Arcane Arts to do some recruiting! After being chewed out by Two-Brains for trying to post notices outside the official student notice board, she puts up her ad:

It's not long before she gets a bite!

Orluthe Chokorov is a cleric-in-training, under Diamode, the Goddess of Family. He's been enrolled in Arcane Arts at the insistence of his family... but he seems to think he's a "fake", and is desperate to go somewhere, anywhere, as long as it means he passes his classes without having to actually... be able to do whatever it is he's taking classes in. He says he can fight, though- in fact, he's eager to fight! He once beat Bud Chestplate, did you know?

There are perhaps less delinquent candidates they could go with, but there's something nice about a party member with secrets Saelhen could use as blackmail.

Saelhen du Fishercrown: "...rest assured that I shall be the soul of discretion. As will Looseleaf." "Though I fear that deception of this sort does not come easily to me..." Looseleaf: "Noeru, if he doesn't want to get into it, he doesn't have to- oh my god."

Having recruited Orluthe, the party heads back to Looseleaf's dorm to ask Oyobi about the Martial Arts students- maybe she has some idea as to who would make a good candidate for the trip!

(This isn't me foisting her on the players, though I did suggest it- after the party of two squishies got wiped in the first encounter, I offered them the chance to put together two NPCs who they'd get to control in combat. Their character sheets were more or less created by the players, and I matched their mechanical requirements to NPCs. We may end up having multiple characters per PC, later- this is sort of a trial run.)

With a cleric(?) and a ranger on the team, plus whatever Vayen is that he won't tell them, they're feeling ready to hit the road- right after a shopping trip.

Saelhen buys...

1x bag of 1000 ball bearings

1x traveler's clothes

1x hooded lantern

15x doses of insect repellent salve (much to Looseleaf's great offense)

2x uses of sealing wax

1x tinderbox

fuck it, 4x more bags of 1000 ball bearings

Zero: 'what are you going to do with five thousand ball bearings' 'when the time comes, i'll know'

Looseleaf buys...

1x pint of oil

1x bag of 1000 ball bearings also

5x healer's kits, to distribute to the party

1x pouch of various plant seeds

1x map

Notably absent is any food, since they have Oyobi in their party- she's a ranger with the Goodberry spell. (I've reflavored it to just mean she's good at foraging and always has rations on hand, because holy crap, Goodberry rules-as-written is totally worldbreaking- why would farms exist?)

During their shopping trip, Saelhen manages to get Oyobi alone, without the rest of the party. Oyobi's shtick has been fun, for her, as someone with very little regard for elven rules of politeness, but... it's still a little much. She asks Oyobi to tone it down.

Oyobi Yamatake: "I mean, I thought you had to no-sell it to keep up the fake noble act- I didn't think it was actually getting you!" "That's priceless, oh my god." "What's there to take a 'break' from, anyway? What's wrong with just living?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "Primarily, the fact that I really need not to twitch in front of the Provost's silent murder goon." Saelhen jerks a thumb over her shoulder, then belatedly checks to make sure that Vayen is not in fact literally right behind her. Benedict I. (GM): Make a Perception roll? Saelhen du Fishercrown: aw, hell, he definitely is, isn't he

She rolls a 13, and no one in particular rolls a 17. So, everything is fine. They keep their voices down, anyway.

Oyobi Yamatake: "I mean, is it really a problem? Can you really not keep a straight face?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "I mean, I can." Saelhen sweeps a hand over her face and is the picture of serenity. "Why should the lady Noeru de la Surplus concern herself with small lapses such as these?" "Surely someone shall find it in their hearts to forgive all trespasses." Oyobi Yamatake: She snorts. "Okay, I get your point." "But really, don't you think it's weirder for an elven noblewoman not to react?" "You don't think he thinks it's suspicious that you take it all in stride?" Saelhen du Fishercrown: "The character is admittedly kind of a freak. I'm making allowances. I mean, this is fun and all, but if no one sees through the bit at all and I'm stuck in it long-term, which it seems like I am, it's like..." "Just being back in Kanzentokai, except worse, because no one is making me." "And drow catch a lot of crap anyway. They don't need me to teach them that elves can be assholes." Oyobi Yamatake: She frowns. "You can't make me try to keep up with the rules, y'know. I'm not going to put up with that garbage ever again." "But I can tone it down with the..." "Y'know, the stuff I'm going out of my way to do, if that helps." Saelhen du Fishercrown: "The wink-and-nudge, yeah. That would help." Oyobi Yamatake: She sighs. She seems a little put out by all this, but pretty quickly puts her happy face back on.

Meanwhile, Looseleaf and Orluthe seem to have lost track of Vayen. It doesn't take them long to find out where he went (well, after Looseleaf rolls a nat 1 on investigation and accidentally pisses off an old lady she mistook for Vayen). Turns out... he's hiding behind a statue of Ccorde, spying on Saelhen and Oyobi.

Looseleaf doesn't buy his crappy excuses, but also... she isn't altogether opposed to the concept of spying on "Lady Noeru de la Surplus", who really ought to have someone keeping an eye on her. So, she just hands him a medical kit- a kit she happens to have used her animist class feature Soul Link on, so she knows where it is at all times. (She's done the same to the bracer.)

Now, with the shopping done, it's time to hit the road! They have a couple options: go on foot, or requisition some giraffes.

(In this world, they domesticated giraffes instead of horses. Why? Because it's a fantasy world and why not?)

The city's main giraffe rental is run by the Ecumene of Understanding, based out of the Temple of Andra. You can rent giraffes for free, as long as you're willing to serve as a courier for the Ecumene- their convoluted legal system requires them to send mail between cities frequently, and they've only got so many clerics on hand. So, anyone wanting to travel the roads can receive a delivery quest from the Ecumene, and rent mounts for free in exchange!

They meet with the Bishop of Understanding of Oyashio, Sarat Aerens.

Aerens has a simple request for them: in addition to visiting Thunderbrush's Temple of Andra with a mail delivery, they're to bring back a report from said temple on the whereabouts of the Siren's Arraignment, a ship that departed from Oyashio and never arrived at its next destination, Snowhold. There's suspicion that the Siren's Arraignment never departed from its supposed origin of Thunderbrush to begin with, either- so the Ecumene put some clerics on the job to investigate, and the party's job is just to relay their message.

With that, they're given giraffe passes, and directed down to the stables, where they find the stablehand, Updraft, having some difficulties.

Benedict I. (GM):There's no one at the pickup window, but there's a sparrow aarakocra just behind, trying to get a giraffe several times her height to get up and out of the damn water trough. Updraft: "...not a bath, ye stubborn git!" "Ye drink from that, lackbrains!" "Y'really want t'be tastin' yer arse?" Looseleaf: OH I CAN HELP WITH THIS FINALLY, A PLACE WHERE I CAN APPLY MY ADVANTAGE ON ANIMAL HANDLING

Looseleaf uses her Soul Read ability to tune in to the giraffe's feelings and recent history, and discovers that someone fed it a hot pepper and it's in, um, anal distress.

Orluthe volunteers to do some healing to the giraffe, with his Lay On Hands ability. Is... that a cleric thing? Do clerics do that? Probably. In this world, clerics perform magic by inviting their god directly into their mind to borrow their brainpower and work miracles directly, and it sure looks like he does that when he does his healing. He channels a god, for sure!

Benedict I. (GM): As he touches the giraffe, you see his body begin to glow, and his facial features are overlaid with another face. "...A giraffe?" "A waste, I suppose, but... perhaps it'll win us some favor." The voice he speaks in sounds more feminine, somehow.

Some religion checks reveal that this doesn't seem quite right for a cleric of Diamode, the goddess of Family. But hey, healing's healing, right?

With that, they're able to get their giraffes no problem- and next time, they'll be on the road to Thunderbrush!

#tfj log #twofaced jewel

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what-is-your-plan-today · 4 years

Text

CSI: Rogers and Barnes- The Serious Cereal Serial Killer

Ch 6- Shots In The Dark Co-Written with @icanfeelastormbrewing

Episode Summary: Katie and Bucky head to the 99 to dig out some old case files that might help them on the case. Steve comes back to work, but he shouldn’t be there really, coz like he was banged up pretty bad. They go to a bar and there’s a fancy fireman called Johnny knocking around with the Nine-Nine crew. Steeby doesn’t like him…and it all kinda goes a bit wrong.

Episode Warnings: Bad Language words.

Episode Pairings: Steve Rogers x OFC Katie Stark (Yeah, it’s nice and friendly now…)

Song for Episode: New Rules by Dua Lipa

A/N: This entire series contains dark humour (CSI + Brooklyn 99=CSI Steeb) Avengers and Stark Spangled Banner Easter Eggs and jokes. You don’t need to have read the SSB series to understand or enjoy this, but we’ve used the Universe to spin this off from so somethings might puzzle a few of you if you ain’t, but feel free to ask. Also, our knowledge of American Policing and Brooklyn is limited, so bear with us if we slip up, but at the end of the day this is a fiction so we’ll claim any mistakes as creative license!!

Enter the NINE-NINE! We’ve used a lot of quotes from the series, that we know are not in their original settings but just indulge us because dammnit, it made us laugh!!

As always we live for re-blogs and comments

CSI Rogers and Barnes Master List

Main Masterlist

“And the wanderer returns!” Jake Peralta greeted Katie warmly as he stepped out of the elevator to greet her at the front desk of the 99 Precinct Building. “Good to see you Jake!” She beamed, giving him a hug before she stepped back “This is Sergeant James Barnes, or Bucky.” “Pleased to meet you.” Bucky said, grasping his hand. “So how’s DC treating you?” Jake asked as they stepped into the elevator. “Not bad.” Katie shrugged “The work is good but, well it’s not home ya know?” Bucky shot her a side glance, that was the first time he had heard her admit that she missed Brooklyn, and he had a feeling that her reconciliation with Steve had something to do with it. “Well you know what they say?” Peralta smiled “You can take the girl outta Brooklyn” “And then bring her back” Bucky quipped, earning him a dig in his ribs. The elevator door opened and they stepped out into the open plan office and Bucky winced at the cacophony of noise that hit his ears. Katie grinned and hugged a smaller, short haired man before she moved on to an Auburn haired woman, and then smiled and fist bumped a taller, darker haired lady. “Hey Diaz.”

“Stark.” The woman’s face flickered into a grin as she pulled Katie into a hug “good to see you”

“Wait a minute. Are we hugging?” Katie pulled back “Have we ever done this before?”

“No,” Diaz replied “And if you tell anyone, I’ll slit your throat.”

Katie laughed. “Does Terry get a hug?” Bucky looked up to see an absolute unit of a man strolling towards them. The man was dressed in a normal shirt, with a tie and suspenders but Bucky couldn’t help but stare because, well, he was fucking huge. He was even bigger than Steve and that was saying something. “Oh Terry gets a hug!” Katie laughed, stepping forward again. “Good, coz Terry missed Katie…” “Does he always refer to himself in the 3rd person? Bucky turned to the shorter man. “Oh yes.” He nodded “I’m Boyle by the way” “Bucky.” He said, shaking his hand.

“So…” Jake turned to them “All the boxes and case notes are ready in the archive rooms down stairs. I would have brought them to you but my cars in the shop so I rode in on Rosa’s motorcycle. I guess you could say I’m a gear head now.” he nodded, clearly pleased with himself. “He held on to me so tight it was like a two-mile Heimlich.” Diaz shot back, where she was lounging in her chair, phone sandwiched between her ear and her shoulder “No I won’t hold…”

“Those things have no walls on them!” Jake hissed as he walked to his desk “Let me just grab my breakfast and we’ll head down…” “Are those gummy bears wrapped in a fruit roll-up?” Bucky looked at him in horror as he picked up the film wrapped item.

“Breakfast burrito, but yeah” Peralta shrugged as they headed to the elevator.

“I pity your dentist.” Bucky shook his head.

“Joke’s on you. I don’t have a dentist.” Jake shot back as they all headed towards the elevator.

“Not so fast…” a deep voice said, and Bucky spun round to see the 99’s commanding officer, Captain Holt striding across the floor. “I believe Sergeant Stark has one more person she needs to say hi to.”

Katie narrowed her eyes playfully “Why? Is Cheddar here?”

“Who’s Cheddar?” Bucky asked.

“Holt’s corgi.” Peralta supplied

Holt’s face twitched, into what Bucky supposed you could call a smile, maybe, as the man stuck his arm out and formally shook Katie’s hand.

“Good to see you again. Congratulations on the promotion.” Holt said “I knew you’d get your break eventually.” “Thank you sir.” she smiled.

He nodded at her and then turned to look out over the office. “Ok 99, I just had an email. Our monthly crime statistics are due. I want paperwork on all your closed cases by tomorrow. Scully, you can just write ‘I didn’t close any’ on a piece of paper.”

Bucky looked around to see two, rather large (and by large he meant fat) men sat at desks, both eating some form of wrap. One of them, the one with the strange hair cut that made him look like he had a lego doll head looked up.

“What? I’m confused…” he said slowly.

“Huh.” Holt raised an eyebrow “From your expression, I would have guessed constipated. Or chilly.”

Bucky heard Katie snigger besides him as a nasaly voice from the Auburn haired woman cut across the office.

“Hey, Craptain, you ready to get curb stomped?” “What?” Jeffords’ eyes shot up.

“At chess.” Gina looked at him.

“We have a weekly match. I’m teaching Gina to play. And she, in turn, is teaching me to trash talk.” Holt said, waving his hand in explanation before he turned to Gina “The hospital called. Your test results came back positive. You’re a stage five dumbass.”

Katie looked at Peralta before the pair of them burst out laughing as Gina stood there, nodding, like a proud sensei.

“Oh! You have come so far.”

Bucky simply stood there, mouth hanging open. What the fuck had Stark dragged him into. He dug her in the ribs with his elbow and as she turned to look at him, he shook his head “This…this is…” “The Nine-Nine.” Katie said, fondly “And you spent 5 years here?” Bucky looked at her in disbelief.

“Actually it was just over 6.” Katie said “I moved to the 101 a year after dad died when the opportunity came up to train as a Profiler. I do miss them all though, and their little quirks…which reminds me…Hey” She turned to Jeffords who was now sat at his desk. “Still writing Fan Fiction Terry?” “Fan Fiction…” Bucky dead panned.

“Well, shows and films leave Terry wanting more.” Sergeant Jeffords shrugged “I’m just filling in the gaps.”

Just when he didn’t think shit could get any weirder… Bucky blinked.

“So what grabbed your imagination this time?” Katie continued

“He’s actually writing an original piece.” Boyle smiled.

Terry grinned “Yeah, about a group of super heroes, who save New York from aliens…”

“Let me guess…” Bucky grumbled and they turned to face him “They all dress in lycra and have capes?”

“Not all of them.” Terry looked at him. “Only one has a cape and only one dresses in Lycra, the others are in leather apart from one who is a kind of beast when he gets angry and the other has a flying, metal suit and…”

“Why can’t anyone make super heroes normal people who wear normal clothes?” Bucky shook his head.

“They don’t sit on their couches in their superhero outfits.” Terry looked at him, frowning “They’re normal on their downtime…”

“What is it with you and superhero costumes?” Katie looked at him.

Bucky shrugged “It’s just all, oh I dunno, ostentatious…” “Says the man who owns a rhinestone encrusted denim jacket, yeah, I heard…Steve told me about it ages ago.”

Bucky smirked and shrugged “It’s from the 90s, it was the fashion when we were a kid.” “Hmmm.” Katie pondered, before she looked back at Terry “You’ll have to email me a copy when it’s done.” “Will do, Terry always likes feedback.” “And Katie likes to read, speaking of which…” she patted Buck’s chest with the back of her hand “We need to get digging into those files, Buck.”

He agreed and Katie turned to Peralta. “Lead the way…not that I don’t know where it is but…”

She was cut off by a loud squeal and she spun to see a dark haired uniformed woman, hair pulled back into a ponytail. Bucky just caught the name “Santiago” on her tag before Katie wrapped her in a hug.

“Oh my God!” Santiago smiled, “I knew you were back in town but…”

“I know I should have called…and I’m sorry Amy but, we got a lot to get through so I need to get to it. But, Romanoff suggested a night out. You too Diaz?”

“Drinks sound good” Diaz nodded.

“The Compound? This weekend?” Katie asked “Sure I can wrangle us the VIP treatment seeing as the owner is practically my sister in law.” ““I am sooo up for that!” Santiago grinned “There’s nothing better after a long shift than going to The Compound It’s like Cheers, where everybody knows your name”

Diaz looked at her “A place where everybody knows your name is hell. You’re describing hell.”

******

The doors of the elevator opened and Katie emerged from it followed by Bucky who was carrying a box with the files they had brought from the 99. Thankfully, out of the three boxes Peralta had provided on Rumlow’s case, they had been able to reduce the files with meaningful information to only one.

“Is Stevie’s office open, Wanda? Need to pop these files somewhere safe.” Katie said once they were close enough to the reception desk counter.

Bucky saw Wanda’s eyebrows squeeze together in a wrinkle and her mouth twist with annoyance at Katie’s use of Steve’s pet name. He could tell she was pissed. And to be honest, he was also surprised at the new situation. How Stark had gone from hating the Captain’s guts and going haywire at him calling her sweetheart, to easily referring to him as Stevie, and in public none the less, was something that he couldn’t quite grasp. But then again the dynamic between those two was unique, which was the polite way of putting it.

“Yeah, it’s open. He’s in there.” she answered trying to conceal her animosity.

“What?” Katie shrieked and Wanda shrugged. She turned to Bucky “Can you believe that?”

Bucky just shook his head and muttered “Punk” as both headed for the Captain’s office. They were about to barge in when the door suddenly opened. Steve, who was carrying a cardboard cup holder with two coffee cups, had to raise his right hand above his head to avoid scalding both detectives with the hot liquid.

“Whoooa, easy there!” his voice faltered at the end as his ribs complained at the sudden movement.

“What the fuck, Steve!” Katie shouted “You should be resting at home, you’re still healing.”

“She’s right, punk.” Bucky added as he made his way past Steve to leave the box on the desk. “What? You don’t think we can handle this without you?”

“That’s … that’s not…” he said turning and glaring at Bucky but stopped when he saw an amused expression on Bucky’s face “Enjoying yourself?” he asked and Bucky nodded and laughed.

Steve sighed and turned to Katie who was still at the door arm crossed and he smiled softly, his bruised face lighting up as he spoke.

“I’m ok, sweetheart. Just have to remember not to move like I’m a cheerleader.”

“Now, that’s an image I don’t want imprinted in my brain.” Bucky mused leaning on Steve desk as he prepared for the storm to unravel.

“What’s in the box?” Steve asked.

“Files from the 99.” Bucky said as he watched Katie who was still observing Steve with narrowed eyes.

“Well don’t leave them there, take them into the incident room.” Steve said, “It’s safe enough, we can lock it and-“

At that point Bucky saw Katie’s eyes flicker like a light bulb, the way they did when her brain was trying to spot the missing link and she interrupted him.

“Wait! How did you get here? You can’t have possibly driven yourself.” she said tilting her head, staring at him like he was the suspect of a petty theft. “Oh, you didn’t ride the bike, did you? Steven, tell me you didn’t ride that old, dusty piece of junk!” she carried on ranting.

“What bike?” Bucky inquired now curious while taking a packet of gummy bears Peralta had given him out of his jacket pocket.

“An old bike my father had. Tony doesn’t like bikes so he passed it on to Steve.” Katie explained “It’s a rattletrap…”

“It’s not a rattletrap.” Steve protested “And it’s unique, the handlebars are made from Vibranium. You should show more respect for Howard’s legacy.” he said pointing at her like she was a little brat.

“Whatever.” she said rolling her eyes. “Are you going to tell me how you got here?”

“Sam drove me. He called to tell me he had news on Ross report, he said he was in the area so I made him pick me up.”

Bucky saw Katie’s stance relax a bit with Steve’s explanation but suddenly her eyes darted to him, and he would be lying if he said he wasn’t a bit scared.

“Who did you say you had breakfast with before we went to the 99?” she asked Bucky with a sly glance.

“I didn’t say.” Bucky said, putting a bunch of gummy bears in his mouth before he diverted the conversation to Steve again.

“You shouldn’t be here, Steve. You’re convalescing”

Steve sighed, lowered his head for some seconds, a demeanour Bucky could read like the back of his hand. Steve felt tired and lost, he needed to go back to his natural element.

"Look” he said raising his head again, the hand that wasn’t holding the drinks dropped to his hip and he looked at Bucky “I’m tired of being at home doing nothing but watching TV and thinking. I can’t even go for my morning run or go to the gym to blow some steam against a punching bag. I know I should be more relaxed now than ever, but I’m not. Doing nothing is driving me crazy. Surely being in the station can’t be that physically demanding?”

Bucky felt a pang of guilt at his friend’s word. Steve was right. Bucky knew that Steve, for as long as he could remember, had always wanted to do what was right. Even if sometimes that meant a bunch of dumbass decisions. The Captain wasn’t one for sitting back and doing nothing. He even had bags under his eyes and Katie must have noticed too since she asked him

“Trouble sleeping?”

Steve turned to look at her with a huge smile on his face and a sparkle of something in his eyes, Bucky could tell from the way he was standing.

“You could say that.” he replied.

Katie returned the smile and they both simply stood looking at one another for what seemed like way more time than should be acceptable. Bucky suddenly felt like he was a fly on the wall, so trying not to step on the moment, he grabbed the box of files and made to leave the office.

“I will be in my desk if you…” he said when he walked past Katie but she wasn’t noticing him, she was still locked in eye contact with Steve.

“Whatever.” he mumbled and headed for his desk “I feel like I’m invisible. I’m turning into Steve when he was a skinny punk.”

“Now, you’re talking to yourself Barnes.” Natasha said walking from the kitchen followed by Sam, Clint and Wanda.

“Who are you, Regina George and her clique?” Bucky bit back while he dropped the box onto his desk and took off his jacket.

Steve chose that point to walk out into the office

“Sam, Barnes and Stark are back.” the Captain spoke striding towards Bucky’s desk, signalling the man over from where he was perched on the edge of Natasha’s desk. Katie headed to her own, and dropped her purse down, slinging her jacket over her chair. “Can you fill us on the new details about Ross’ PM report?”

“Can I go fetch a coffee first?” Katie pleaded as Sam stood up. “It’ll be real quick, promise.”

“Oh, shit, here” Steve said quietly handing her one of the take out coffee cups he had brought from his office and completely forgotten about “I got you your regular on the way. Your round tomorrow.”

In all honesty Steve had been a little nervous buying that coffee. It had been something they had always done, buying each other a drink on the way in, alternating on days. But since she had returned and they hadn’t been on good terms it had clearly fallen by the wayside. Since the air had cleared yesterday he’d decided to chance it and see how it was received but he needn’t have worried. Katie positively beamed at him before she blurted out “God, I love you.”

Steve felt his neck growing warm as all eyes turned to them and he saw Katie’s own cheeks flush and she sipped from the cup trying to hide her embarrassment “Suri’s Vanilla Lattes are the best.” she said in an over the top, dramatic voice “Oh, how I have missed them!”

"You’re welcome, I think.” Steve said, now full on blushing as he rubbing the back of his neck.

Bucky tried to divert the attention from the pair of dorks before Wanda choked on her own bile and Natasha or Clint made a snarky comment.

“I’m waiting. What, you didn’t bring one for me?” he asked and from the corner of his eye he saw Natasha shaking her head at him disapprovingly. He glanced at Steve who was now flushing even more and that was when he realized he had made it worse by drawing even more attention to the fact that Steve had, in effect, displayed favouritism, whether he meant to or not.

“You want in Barnes you can buy the next round then.” Katie quipped and he glanced at her as she perched on the edge of her desk.

“Fair enough…” he shrugged, and then his attention was taken by Sam who was looking at something on his desk with curiosity.

“You like cats?” Sam asked taking Dot and examining her.

“It’s not a cat. It’s a goat and it’s called Dot.” Bucky said with annoyance. How the fuck could anyone mistake a goat for a cat?

Steve groaned and urged Sam to start with the report details so they could move on with the investigation.

“What? Dude has a cat on his desk and you don’t want to know why?” Sam asked Steve. "Looks like a cat.“ he shrugged now looking at Bucky.

"I think it looks like a llama.” Katie quipped and Clint’s laugh could be heard all through the floor.

Steve groaned again rubbing his forehead but before he could make one of his famous pep talks, Sam interrupted him.

“All right, before Steve McQueen here’s head blows up…the hair we got on Ross’ trousers?” he offered, opening the folder he was carrying and examining the report.

“Yeah?” Steve asked.

“Funny enough, its goat.” the doctor explained.

Everyone went silent, looking at each other, before Katie let out a laugh and turned to Bucky.

“Maybe we should ask Dot if she knew Ross.”

“Fuck off Stark.” Bucky rolled his eyes, grinning.

“Oooh, maybe she did it…” Katie continued “I mean, do you know her whereabouts that night?”

“You’re hilarious.” Bucky deadpanned, shaking his head.

“Ok. Anything else?” Steve asked Sam, cutting across the pair of them.

“Nope. That’s all I’ve got so far. Got you a copy of the updated report.” he said handing the folder to Steve.

“Thanks, Sam” he said and the Doctor just nodded and patted Dot’s head with his index finger before heading away.

“Romanoff, Barton, start working on a link between Ross and …” Steve paused for a moment trying to sound as professional as possible “…a goat.“

Katie choked slightly and then coughed as Bucky looked at her, before they both started to snigger slightly. Steve rolled his eyes at the pair of them. They were like school kids.

"Right away, Cap.” Natasha nodded.

“It would be my genuine pleasure, Cap.” Clint added, nodding to his computer “Searching for goat farms as we speak. God I’d like to have a farm someday.”

“Buck, you and Katie start with those files. I’ve got a tele-conference with Fury to give him an update so I’ll join you as soon as I can.”

Bucky gave him a salute as he turned and started making his way towards his office.

“Stevie, I got your…” Wanda called out for him before he went away but she was cut off by Steve’s fiery look.

“It’s Steve, Wanda.” he said sternly.

“Yes. Sorry Steve” she said gulping “I just wanted to give you your mail.”

“Thanks.” Steve said, slightly less curtly but still with a slight edge to his voice as he took the items from her.

Bucky saw her walk as fast as she could towards the restroom and he shared a quick significant glance with Steve who just shook his head and turned towards his office. He then looked at Katie who simply stood and picked up the box from his desk as she headed towards the Incident Room. Finally he looked in Natasha’s direction who nodded at him as if confirming they were on the same page-Rogers and Stark were back on full speaking and, so it seemed, full flirting terms.

***** “So as Jake and I explained before the victim was a woman called Sara Klein.” Katie spoke as Bucky spread the papers across the large table. “She was walking home from a bar when she was dragged into an alley and raped.”

“And you think the perp was…this Rumlow guy?” Bucky asked, looking down at a mug shot of a man with dark hair and dark eyes. “Who was a Uniform in the 99?”

“Yeah.” Katie said

“So what made you suspect him?”

“When we took Klein to the Rape Centre for her forensic examination he was there, don’t ask me what for. When she came back from the examination room she heard him talking and literally stated shaking and became hysterical.” Katie paused for a moment “We got her back to the station, calmed her down and that was when she said she recognised his voice…”

At that point Steve walked into the room and they both looked at him, and he gestured for them to continue.

“Peralta and I went to speak to Captain Holt, you know, given the sensitivity of it. He told us to bring Rumlow in for questioning and that he would speak to Fury. Obviously he denied it, said she must have been mistaken bla bla bla but Peralta and I didn’t believe a word of it, I know he did it.”

She trailed off and Bucky looked at Steve who gently laid a hand on her shoulder “He knows.” he looked at her as her head snapped up and her eyes locked onto his “I told him what Rumlow did to you, I’m sorry but I was trying to explain the Sitwell situation and…” For a moment Steve feared she was going to blow up at him but she didn’t. Instead she sighed and shrugged “It’s not exactly a secret anyway…” she wiped at her eyes and Steve gently rubbed her back before she jumped off the desk and walked to the wall, looking at the various bits of notes and evidence.

“Long and short of it, Bucky, is that we had no forensics of any sort to link Rumlow to the rape, no DNA left behind, nothing that wasn’t circumstantial…and then up pops Sitwell to provide an alibi that we didn’t believe for a second. But before we had chance to discredit it, Sara turned up and said she wanted to withdraw her allegation. Said that she’d confided in someone, we never did find out who, and they’d given her all these statistics on how many rape cases actually ended in a conviction and that was it, she didn’t want to put herself through it. Nothing we said or did could convince her otherwise.”

“So Rumlow basically carried on like nothing had happened…” Bucky said, leaning back in his chair. “Well his reputation was in tatters, mud sticks…” Katie said, turning to look at him “He pretty much became a social pariah around the force. And then when he assaulted me he was kicked out, well, told to resign…”

Bucky stayed silent as Steve gently reached over to look at the paper work on the desk.

“So has anything turned up in any of this that can link Ross to Sitwell?” he asked, glancing up at them both.

“Not so far.” Bucky shook his head “But we haven’t even scratched the surface.”

“Well until we have anything concrete to go on it’s as good a train of thought as any.” Steve said. “Maybe it’s worth digging into Sitwell’s background a little more. Schools, Universities, dodgy handshake clubs, that kind of stuff, see if we can link him to Ross that way.”

“Say we do make a link…” Bucky said, leaning back in his chair, eyeing Katie “Gut feeling Stark, is this connected to the Rumlow case?”

“I dunno.” she shrugged “But one thing’s for sure, something stinks about all of this. And I don’t believe in co-incidences.”

“Me neither doll face.” Bucky mumbled, dodging the whiteboard pen she sent flying his way.

******

Three hours and a couple of sandwiches later Bucky and Katie had decided to call it a day. They had gone through Rumlow’s case again and needed a home cooked dinner and a good night’s sleep before they started digging on Sitwell’s school records the following day.

“Ok. My brain is fried. I’m heading home and praying for Tony not being there yet. Wish me luck.”

Bucky smiled at Katie over the screen of his computer. He saw her stand up from her chair and cross her fingers in the air before walking to the restroom. He was saving the documents on his computer and turning it off when he heard Steve.

“Anything significant?”

“Nope.” Bucky said leaning back on his chair and stretching his arms above his head. “Enough for today. And you too, Steve. Finish that coffee you’re drinking and I’ll drive us home.”

Steve nodded and turned around when he heard Katie’s voice from behind him.

“You shouldn’t even be here. Go home and rest, Stevie.” she said casually.

Bucky raised an eyebrow at Steve who rolled his eyes, but he turned to Katie when she let out a little squeal and saw her waving her phone in the air.

“Nat, Wanda come here! Got a message from Diaz!” she said excitedly “GIRL’S NIGHT OUT FRIDAY. How does that sound? She says Amy and Gina are coming too.”

“I’m in” Natasha said grinning at Bucky and turning to Wanda, who had also gathered around Katie’s desk, for confirmation.

“I don’t think I can… I’m sorry.” Wanda hesitated before adding “My cat is sick.”

“Your cat?” Nat asked her with sly eyes.

“Whatever…” Katie rolled her eyes and leant over her desk to switch off her computer “I’m only asking because I’m not petty enough to leave one person out” she muttered only for Bucky to hear.

“Leave it.” Bucky whispered back as he saw Wanda frown and open her mouth to retort to Katie’s initial eye roll and he gave Steve a warning look.

“Wanda.” Steve stepped in “Come to my office. There are some reports I want you to file before you go.” and he started walking away as she followed obediently.

“Ok. I’ll text Diaz saying we’re in Nat. Dinner and The Compound?” Katie asked while grabbing her jacket and purse.

“Perfect. And I’ll convince the little witch.” Nat nodded.

Katie just pursed her lips and nodded before waving everyone goodbye and walking away.

“Ok. All hands on deck. Clint come here!” Nat said her eyes shining with the excitement of plotting. “Barnes. Engage phase 2. We’re going out and we’ll be at the Compound after dinner, I’ll confirm our ETA as we go. You two bring Rogers and I’ll make sure Stark is a little bit intoxicated by then.” she said winking at Bucky.

“I’ll call Peralta, if Santiago is gonna be there, he’ll be up for it. See who else he can drag in.” Clint offered.

“Ok Buck, I’m ready. We can go now” Steve said and looked at them sensing he had stepped into something “Am I interrupting something here?”

“Nah. Nat was telling us the girls’ plans for Friday.” Bucky brushed him off.

“Oh, so you’re finally going out?” Steve smirked at Nat who rolled her eyes at his dig that it had taken her so long to organise something with Katie “But, you do know you and Stark are on call this weekend as Barton and Barnes have done the last two?”

“That we did.” Clint quipped

“It’s ok boss. We’ll behave.” Nat drawled as she spotted Wanda had returned to the reception desk. “Gotta go do something. See ya fellas.”

Steve sighed and shook his head at Bucky “Lets go, Buck. Bye Barton.”

******

“You’re a pain in the ass. No, you’re worse than a pain in the ass, you know that?” Bucky said while closing the car door after getting into the left back seat of Sam’s grey Mercedes Class C.

“What’s the deal?” Sam asked looking at Steve who was now fastening the seat belt of the passenger seat. Perks of being the Captain and still on recovery.

“He’s been grumpy all day. He didn’t want to come.” Bucky explained.

“I told you, I’m on duty this weekend.” Steve said turning his head to look at Bucky as Sam pulled away from the curb in front of Steve’s block.

And he was being truthful, he was the senior officer on call. It had been Holt’s turn last week, but as Bucky pointed out the chances of getting called in were low. Katie was the on duty Sergeant supported by Natasha and God forbid either of them would admit they couldn’t handle any possible situation and had to call their superior in.

“You have more chances of getting laid tonight than being called in tomorrow.” Clint deadpanned from the right back seat.

Steve groaned which made Sam chuckle and give a significant look to the men at the back through the rear-view mirror.

“Where are we going?” Steve asked trying to change the subject.

“We’re picking up Thor” Sam explained.

“And then?” Bucky asked “I’m hungry.”

“Yeah, what’s new? You’re always hungry.” Steve snorted.

“Tell me about it.” Clint scoffed. “I spent all day with him yesterday visiting goat farms upstate. Dude ate a donut dorito hot dog pizza all rolled up like a burrito! Can you believe it?” Clint asked leaning forward to speak to Steve and Sam.

“Hey, I was just optimizing my time.” Bucky shrugged and the three men shook their heads.

“We could stop at Grimaldi’s to have pizza and beers, feed the bastard. Then we’ll drop into the Compound.” Sam suggested.

Both Bucky and Sam nodded in agreement with the plan. Steve groaned again. He was worried about the case being in a deadlock. After two days of digging, they had nothing solid on Sitwell’s connection to Ross yet. Last thing he needed, if he was being honest, was taking care of a bunch of drunk friends and, what was more, he wasn’t gonna drive any of them home, it was Sam’s car after all, he had called designated driver. But then it dawned on him, they were going to the Compound and the girls would be there, wouldn’t they? Suddenly his spirits were lifted and a soft smile crossed his face. But he was snapped from his thoughts again by Bucky.

“Look, I know you’re pissed. You’re still sore from the accident, I get it.” Bucky started to scold him but was interrupted by Sam.

“We’re here. Can someone text him?” Sam announced pulling in a spot in front of Thor’s building.

“Got it.” Clint offered pulling out his phone.

He unclasped the car belt and moved closer to Bucky so as to leave space for Thor in the backseat while fiddling with his phone. Bucky stirred in his seat feeling suddenly trapped.

“Can you move your seat up?” he asked Sam

“No” Sam said without even flinching a muscle on his face.

“Asshole.” Bucky muttered.

He looked at Steve who seemed to be lost in his thoughts and then he turned to look at Clint who kept on texting on his phone.

“Ok. Peralta says he’s meeting us at the Compound. He’s having dinner with some video games buddies now but he’ll meet us later.” Clint informed the rest.

“Will Tony be there?” Steve asked suddenly.

“Of course he will” Clint snorted. “He clocks in day in and day out.”

“Yeah, Pepper has him wrapped around her finger.” Sam added nodding.

“Women.” Bucky sighed looking at his Captain who was looking at the front stoic as ever.

“Greetings, morons!”

Thor’s voice reverberated in the cabin of the car as he sat in the only free seat and closed the door grinning. Everyone greeted him back and Sam started the car again.

“Why are you carrying an umbrella?” Clint asked Thor “It isn’t even cloudy.”

“Oh! It’s my lucky charm.” he said happily. “My lucky umbrella, my father gave it to me when I was a kid.”

“This is the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard.” Steve mused from the front seat.

“And a mistake. I mean are you gonna be attached to your lucky charm all night?” Sam asked, hands on the steering wheel.

“I make grave mistakes all the time, everything seems to work out in the end.” Thor shrugged and tapped Steve on the shoulder. “Captain, what are you doing here? I thought you were still recovering from your car crash. You should be sitting at home in your bathrobe, eating grapes.“

"Yeah, or plums.” Bucky added. “Don’t encourage him. He is enough grumpy as it is.”

“Yeah, not helping blondie.” Clint quipped.

“You’re so petty and tiny.” Thor scoffed.

They continued picking on one another for the rest of the journey and the time they spent at the pizza restaurant. Two hours later the five of them were at the main entrance to the Compound, one of the most popular clubs in Brooklyn in the last few years. The club was run by Pepper, Tony’s fiancé, so they were greeted warmly by Happy, the doorman, who let them in immediately after a short informal chat.

“Welcome, Gentlemen” Pepper greeted the group who had now approached the bar where she was chatting idly with Tony. “What a sight for sore eyes, Steve!” she added now kissing Steve on the cheek.

“Yeah, what brings you here Capsicle? Last time I checked you were in a hospital bed looking like shit.” Tony asked Steve.

“Yeah, Katie told us about it.” Pepper interjected signalling between her and Tony. “How are you now? Are you ok? Is there anything I can bring you?”

“I’m fine Pepper, honestly thank you, just a few cuts and bruises. And a glass of water would be great, thanks.”

“Water coming right up.” said Pepper gesturing for the barman to come and take their orders.

“Water, Rogers?” Tony mocked him. “Beers for all for starters. That’s on me and I’m buying a bottle of the best champagne we have so meet me in our private booth when you’re done.”

The group cheered happily at Tony’s offer and sat on the bar stools waiting for their drinks.

A pretty blonde waitress placed a glass of water and a beer bottle on the bar in front of Steve and winked at him, who obliviously took a painkiller from the blister and swallowed it with a bit of water. He didn’t want to take it but the constant bickering of his friends and the loud music and dim lights of the club were making his head pound.

He was sipping from his beer bottle when someone slapped his back causing him to wince at the pain.

“Hey, Rogers. Nice to see you man!” Peralta greeted.

“Hey, Jake. How you doin’?” Steve greeted back with a sincere smile while Peralta nodded and fist bumped Clint.

“Did you come alone?” Clint asked him.

“Yeah, but meeting a friend at some point tonight. He’s working until later.” Peralta answered as he shook hands with Bucky and Sam. “Barnes, good to see you again. Wilson?”

“Hey man.” Sam nodded, and Peralta looked beyond him towards Thor who was scanning the dance floor while moving his head and feet to the beat of the music.

“Oh, you brought Point Break.” Peralta quipped, turning to Clint.

“Yeah, you can’t get rid of him easily, especially if we’re talking about revels.” Clint commented.

“Revels?” Peralta asked frowning.

“A Party, that’s what he calls it.” Sam offered.

“Wow, and I thought Holt had a weird vocabulary.” Peralta muttered.

A little while later Thor had disappeared onto the dance floor and the rest were already on their second beer while chatting animatedly. Steve was beginning to regret having mixed alcohol and meds. Feeling a bit lightheaded, he was seriously considering calling a cab and going home when he heard Peralta whistle through his teeth and Bucky let out a breathy curse.

“Damned.”

“What?” he asked turning around to ask what was going on. They were both looking at the back of the Compound, towards the booths and that was when he noticed what had taken their attention. Katie was stood side on to them, talking to Tony. She was dressed in a dark blue short jumpsuit that sported a large white flowered pattern and a plunge neck line that dipped almost to her navel. Her shoes were high heeled black sandals with a silvery cuff round the ankle and as she turned to say something to Natasha, Steve saw that the back of the jumpsuit was bare bar where the fabric crossed across to each shoulder from the opposite hip.

God she looked gorgeous, scratch that, she looked more than gorgeous.

“Fuck!” Steve cursed when he noticed his beer had been dribbling down his front. He took a pair of cocktail napkins and tried to dry his shirt while Bucky, Peralta and Sam cackled at him. He groaned and continued wiping as Bucky put one arm over his shoulder.

“Keep it cool, man. It’s not like you don’t know what’s under those clothes.” he said in a low voice, winking at Steve.

“Shut up, Bucky.” Steve snapped but had to do as told as the girls were approaching the bar.

“Hey fellas.” Natasha drawled, “You coming over to join us?”

“Once Rogers has dried off, yeah.” Clint said.

Diaz looked at him, frowning. “Dried off.” “Yeah someone nudged me and I spilt…” he said, gesturing to the front of his shirt.

Katie shrugged “Can’t see anything, your shirt’s black.”

“It’s nice.” Wanda nodded, looking at Steve. He took a deep breath, thinking back to what Bucky had said and merely smiled at the woman politely. Behind Wanda he saw Diaz and Natasha exchange a smirk. Katie, however, was focussed on something else.

“Is that the one I bought you for your birthday last year?” Katie asked, reaching out to gently run her hand over the collar, and Steve nodded and didn’t miss the scowl on Wanda’s face. Totally oblivious to the daggers she was being given, Katie grinned “Wanda’s right, it looks good.”

He smiled at her and then turned politely to Wanda who had said something to him, and Bucky watched as Katie’s eyes lingered on them both for a little longer her eyebrow raised, almost in amusement at the other woman’s attempts to flirt with Steve fell flat.

“You want Stevie to go into cardiac arrest or something?” Buck leaned over to talk into her ear and she turned to look at him “The man is drugged and on alcohol and then you come along looking like that.”

“Fuck off Bucky.” Katie bit back “I wore this because it makes me feel good, you asshole, not for anyone else. And it’s not like I knew you were coming. Why are you guys even here anyway?”

“Boys’ night out” Bucky shrugged.

Katie raised an eyebrow at him “Yeah, of all the places you could pick to go you just…”

At that she stopped and her head cocked to one sided as she caught the first beats of a song playing.

“Oh, God!” she squealed. Bucky was just about to ask her what was going on but he was too late, she leaned towards Steve and gently grabbed his hand, turning his attention away from Wanda as she curled her hand round his.

“Stevie, listen.”

A big mischievous grin crossed Steve’s face when he heard the song and next thing he knew he was being dragged by Katie to the dance floor. Leaving Wanda slack jawed with frustration.

“What the fuck? Is he dancing?” Bucky asked Clint and Nat who were stood at the bar next to him, unable to keep his eyes from Katie and Steve dancing and laughing like crazy to I’ll be there for you by The Rembrandts.

“Yeah, they always dance to this, it’s like their song.” Clint answered before sipping from his beer bottle.

“Give him a minute, he will do his Joey.” Natasha told Bucky while keeping an eye on Wanda who had just sidled back into the booth and was now pouting and stabbing the bar with her cocktail umbrella. At that Steve launched into some kind of odd dance move, which he still manage to make look quite graceful “Oh, yep. There we go.”

“Unbelievable” Bucky mused shaking his head, happy to see his bestie cut loose. “She really brings out that kid from Brooklyn, doesn’t she?”

“You could say that.” Nat said with a side smile while Clint nodded in agreement. They all watched as one of Steve’s arms curled round Katie’s waist, his large hand splaying on her back as they continued to dance around to the upbeat music, Katie’s head tipped back in laughter and a huge grin spread across Steve’s face.

At that point Bucky heard Wanda snort and strut down the club to the restrooms bumping into people on her way.

“Ah leave her.” Natasha said with a sigh, draining her glass.

“So Rogers has two women fighting over him…” Peralta leaned back “Lucky bastard.” “He’s eyes for no one but Stark.” Bucky said, shrugging “So wouldn’t really call it a fight.” “Well, to be honest, I wouldn’t really want to get in a fight with Stark anyway…” Peralta nodded. “Damned she can be vicious.”

***** A few hours later they were all sat together in Tony’s private booth drinking champagne, except for Katie who had finished her drink and had gone dancing with Rosa and Gina, and Steve who had gone to the restroom.

"This bottle is empty.” Thor said shaking the bottle in the air.

“I’ll go fetch another one.” Tony said standing up ceremoniously.

“I don’t want that bubbly shit. Anyone in for some tequila shots?” Thor asked as he also stood up and went to the bar without waiting for an answer.

“Oh…my…God!” Natasha suddenly slurred nudging Clint who was beside her.

"This is better than we expected” Clint whispered, grinning.

“What? What’s happening” Bucky asked.

He looked at Natasha who didn’t answer but he followed her gaze only to spot a tall handsome brunette chatting with Peralta and Santiago.

“What is he doing here?” Nat hissed to Clint

“Don’t know. Must be the buddy Peralta said he was meeting.“ Clint answered Nat.

"Who is he?” Bucky frowned.

“Storm” Wanda, who was nibbling a piece of lime, explained to Bucky “He’s a fireman and has the hots for Stark” she practically purred.

“Well, this is awkward.” Sam deadpanned.

“You know what? I’m gonna help Thor with the shots.” Wanda said to the group.

“Ok. I’m lost” Bucky said once Wanda was out of earshot.

“Phase 2, Barnes” Natasha’s eyes glinted “The plan was getting them drunk and leave them alone, wasn’t it? But, this is brilliant!” she clapped excitedly. “Steve’s gonna see him here, get all jealous and protective…”

“Ok, but someone needs to keep flash fire dude away from Stark until Captain Slow can make his move…” Sam warned looking as Steve was coming back from the restroom and was approaching the bar.

"Uh oh, too late” Bucky said moving his head towards Wanda who was talking to Johnny Storm and pointing at Katie’s direction before she gestured to their booth.

“Fuck.” Clint hissed.

“Should have seen that coming.” Natasha groaned.

“Can’t blame her, Witchy is only playing the cards she has left.” Clint chuckled.

“All right, Steve coming at your 9. Everybody play it cool. Let’s see how this unfolds.” Sam muttered.

It was only seconds after Steve had sat in the booth with another beer in his hands that Thor came carrying a tray with shots and a bottle of tequila, followed by Wanda and Johnny.

“Here, let me help you.” Wanda offered Thor.

“I told you I can handle this” he said placing the tray on the table “Fortunately, I am mighty.” he said casually tossing the bottle in the air and catching it expertly.

Bucky saw as Natasha gave a filthy look to Wanda who was now sitting between her and Steve.

“What? Wanda whispered.

"You know what.” Natasha muttered at her.

Steve’s eyes flickered up to the dark haired man and he did a double take. That was the Flash Fireman, the friend of Peralta’s that Katie had been talking to at the Christmas Party. He took a deep breath and felt his shoulders stiffen slightly as he looked around, spotting that Katie, Diaz and Gina were making their way over. He took a deep breath and his nostrils flared as Johnny blatantly looked Katie up and down as she made her way over.

“S’Up Fire Boy?” Diaz asked him “No kittens to rescue from a tree?”

“Off duty…” Johnny grinned “And stop pretending you’re not happy to see me Diaz.” “Yeah, that’s her happy face, just for clarity.” Gina nodded, folding her arms “Her angry face…well, no one who’s seen it has lived to tell the tale.”

There were a few chuckles from the table until Thor roared out that it was time for shots. Katie slid into the booth on the spare seat next to Johnny as Bucky and Steve both stood up to grab extra stools for Diaz and Gina. Once they were all seated Thor passed the shots around and Steve hastily slammed his down as he watched Katie leaning slightly into Johnny, the pair of them chatting. As Steve watched he held out his arm of his jacket and Katie smiled, reaching out to gently stroke it.

“You like it?” he asked looking at her “It’s a new material made by my sister, she’s an engineer.” he said sliding an arm around Katie’s shoulder “It keeps the hot stuff hot and the cool stuff cool.”

“Yeah, can’t have your brain overheating, can we?” Steve jabbed at him, rolling his eyes.

Bucky chuckled at Steve’s comment and Katie tried to hide her smile sipping from her glass.

“I’m not wearing a hat.” Johnny frowned earning a withering look from Steve and Katie choked on her Martini. At that point there was no hiding the grin spreading across her face and Bucky saw her glance at Steve, probably to share another one of those knowing, inside smiles, but her expression slipped. He looked over to see Wanda laugh at Steve’s joke and hold onto his left arm. And the Captain made no move to shrug her off. Instead, he turned into her, his arm moving only to drape round the back of the bench they were on.

Uh Oh.

“Are you ok, princess?” Bucky’s attention flicked back to Johnny who was looking at Katie. “Wanna dance?” he asked with his playful signature smile.

“Yeah, why not?” She said, shooting another glare at Steve. She stood up and flash fired dude slipped his arm round her, hand gripping at her hip as he steered her into the middle of the dancefloor

“I’m dancing too.” Natasha said standing up “And you’re all coming with me. This is a girl’s night after all…”she added dragging Wanda up out of the seat before she turned around and mouthed do something at Bucky.

Bucky looked at Clint and Sam for support, he wasn’t sure what it was that Natasha expected him to do. The situation was disastrous enough as it was.

The pretty blond waitress from the bar came to collect the tray and empty bottles scattered over the table and gave Steve an intense look.

"Want another drink or anything else, handsome? A dance maybe?”

“No thanks” Steve groaned. He stood up and simply said “Excuse me” before walking towards the bar.

“What’s wrong with him?” she asked Bucky and Sam who were looking at her sympathetically.

“Don’t take it personally. He’s in love.” Bucky shrugged.

“Oh, so is he taken?” she asked apologetically.

“Not exactly…” Sam tried to explain.

“What? Is she blind or something?” the waitress said wiping the table with a rag.

“Something like that.” Clint scoffed.

Bucky sat back and tried to come up with a way to redirect the situation. Jealous and drunk Steve was not a good combination but now it was pointless trying to fix the disaster as he saw Steve perched on a stool by the bar, another beer in hand, looking at the dance floor like a wolf.

And then, it was almost like it was happening in slow motion. Wanda, who had slunk off the dancefloor made her way over to Steve where she draped herself, shamelessly over him. And before Bucky could even move to warn Steve, as he could see what was happening a mile off, she’d slipped her arms round his neck and pulled him down to kiss her.

Bucky let out a groan and he turned to the dancefloor to see Natasha stood there, hand over her mouth and she turned to look at him. He waved his hand over his throat furiously, in an attempt to get Natasha to sort it out but it was too late. Bucky’s eyes flickered to Katie whose attention was fully on Steve and her face fell.

“You left Wanda unleashed!” Bucky practically yelled, exaggerating his words so Natasha could see what he was saying, as he pointed in the direction of Steve and Wanda at the bar.

“Abort phase two. This is a disaster.” Clint groaned. Meanwhile, Thor laughed loudly and clapped.

“Matchmakers of the year, ladies and gentlemen!” he said.

“Where you even here?” Clint asked visibly annoyed.

In all fairness to Steve, he hadn’t been expecting Wanda to make a move like that. It took a while for his drunken brain to catch up with what was going on, but when he finally did he gently caught Wanda on the hips and pushed her away.

“Wanda…” he shook his head “I’m sorry, you’re a great girl and everything but…”

He stood up and looked around, and then he felt his heart sink. Katie and the Fancy Fireman were heading for the exit, hand in hand. Bucky was also watching the two of them leave, and his attention turned to Steve and the utter look of devastation the Captain wore.

Fuck.

@the-omni-princess @momobaby227 @geekofmanythings16 @angelofhell-666 @thewackywriter @marvelfansworld @cobalt-gear @asgardlover75 @jennmurawski13 @jtargaryen18 @saiyanprincessswanie @navispalace @patzammit @joannaliceevans-fanficblog @icanfeelastormbrewing @djeniiscorner @ayamenimthiriel @coldmuffinbanditshoe @disneylovingal @madzmilllz @sgtjaamesbaarnes @sweater-daddiesdumbdork @southerngracela @goldenfightergir @kellymat @official-and-unstable-satan @charmed-asylum

#csi rogers and barnes #csi au #steve rogers x original female character #steve rogers x oc #steve rogers #bucky barnes #clint barton #natasha romanoff #wanda maximoff #sam wilson #tony stark #thor odinson #brooklyn 99

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alright--okay · 4 years

Text

you ever been to a basement show? pt. 3

tsukishima kei x reader

summary: Tsukishima sees you everywhere, and for a big school thats weird. And it’s not like he’s gonna do anything, that’d be even weirder, but one day in your shared lecture he sees you wearing a shirt with some small band’s name. A band he know. And well, now he has to know who you are.

word count: ~2.8 k

a/n: the first five chapters are already on ao3 so imma post them here real quick, hope anyone reading enjoys!

read on ao3!

pt. 3 Girl Scout Cookies - Mom Jeans.

“What the hell are you wearing?” Tsukishima said as you walked into the lecture hall, gesturing to your outfit.

“I don’t understand the question.” You calmly replied taking a seat beside him, only to awkwardly bring your legs up to the chair in front of you. The attempt to look laid back and “chill” clearly not working.

Tsukishima widened his eyes and pointedly shifted his gaze to your plaid pants.

“They’re my fun pants!”

“Is fun the word we’re gonna use?”

“Yes. We are. Because these,” you gestured to the patterned pants, “are a statement piece and fashionable. I look trendy and professional.”

“You look like you got lost on your way to an underground cafe that serves farm-fresh honey.”

“That sounds delightful, not gonna lie.” You turned away from Tsukishima to start unpacking your materials for the class. “Oh, and before I forget, I figured you’d like to know that Yachi was very happy to see you again.”

Tsukishima let a small smile slip onto his face at that, “I’m sure, Yachi was close with a lot of us on the volleyball team; when we got to college it just got harder to coordinate, even if we were at the same school.” He turned to look at the pen he had been playing with in his hand, “It was nice to see her too.”

“Aw, Tsukishima, you do have a heart!” You laughed. Even though you had known Tsukishima for a short period of time, it was easy to get comfortable around him. You actually kinda enjoyed his snarky attitude and it was fun to tease him. Not to mention Yachi trusted the dude so you knew he had to be a good person (even if it was deep down).

Tsukishima attempted to ignore you the rest of the class for that comment but decided to bother you by pushing your elbow off your shared armrest every chance he got.

After the third time your pen ran down the page in an abrupt straight line, you stoned your face and silently looked forward, ignoring the chuckles Tsukishima was hiding behind his hand. You slide the small lecture desk back in its place and calmly made your way to one seat over. Once settled again you turned to Tsukishima who was already looking at you with bright eyes and a poorly repressed smile.

“I’m not having it.”

~~~

From Tsukishima archeology:

hey i don’t know if you’d be interested but me yamaguchi and our other roommates were gonna have a game night situation tonight

i think yamaguchi told yachi about it but i wanted to let you know that youre welcome

to come that is

if you want to

You smiled at the texts. Yachi had informed you of the “game night situation” happening on Friday last night, but it had seemed wrong to impose. These were friends Yachi hadn’t seen in how long? And you were just supposed to crash their full reunion? But Yachi had taken the time to assure you that yes, Yamaguchi and Tsukishima were friends from high school, but their other roommates were really just “friends-of-friends”.

She had convinced you to come with her to be another familiar face, but having Tsukishima explicitly invite you made you feel better about the situation as a whole.

To Tsukishima archeology:

yeah yachi told me !! ill see you there :)

You slipped your phone back into your pocket and continued your walk away from campus to your apartment with Yachi. It was still the early afternoon and you were (thankfully) done with classes for the week, giving you plenty of time to mentally prepare for a night of socialization with a group of people you largely didn’t know.

What the fuck did you agree to?

~~~~~~

“So she is confirmed coming?” Yamaguchi asked from the kitchen, peering around the corner to see Tsukishima, hunched over his phone starring at the screen.

“Yeah, she’s coming with Yachi.”

“I still can’t believe she knows Yachi,” Yamaguchi said, shaking his head slightly as he sat beside Tsukishima on the couch. “Well, at least it gave us a reason to reach out, right? I’ve missed my favorite blonde.”

Tsukishima beside him sat up, looking at his friend, “Oh so I’m number two?”

“Sorry, but you’re number three,” Yamaguchi said with false sincerity, “Akiteru beat you out when he brought those pork buns last month.”

Tsukishima gave his friend a blank stare before falling back into the couch with a “shuddup Yamaguchi” mumbled under his breath, Yamaguchi only offering a snicker in response.

“Come on, get up. We have to prepare this place for tonight.” Yamaguchi stood, holding out a hand to help Tsukishima up.

“Prepare? It’s not like we’re throwing a party or something.”

“No, but we have a fairly tiny apartment and with eight peop-”

“Wait, eight? I thought there would only be six…” Tsukishima trailed off as he came to realize who the other two were.

Yamaguchi gave a nod, moving to fix the couches in the small space, “Yep. Bokuto was sad he couldn’t come last weekend so they’re taking the train in. They should be here in like an hour. Hope your new friend likes being interrogated.”

At this Tsukishima groaned. “I might have finally found a normal friend and those two are gonna ruin it.”

“Oh come on, Tsukki. Yeah, they’re loud and crash and have way too much energy BUT you love them.”

“I love Kenma and Akaashi, that’s the only way I deal with those buffoons.” Tsukishima paused before going to help Yamaguchi position the couch, “But for real … do you think they’ll scare y/n?“

“Tsukki, that girl can deal with you. I’m sure she’ll be fine with Kuroo and Bokuto. Plus Yachi is gonna be here, Kenma and Akaashi will keep them in line for her, and by proxy, y/n.”

Tsukishima knew this was true at least. Back in their first year of university, Tsukishima, Yamaguchi, and Yachi hung out a lot more and even back then Kuroo and Bokuto would come to visit their respective boyfriends. In the few times all of them would hang out together, Kenma and Akaashi made sure the two were respectful of Yachi, knowing how anxious she could get.

So as long as Kuroo and Bokuto didn’t get you alone, all should be fine.

~~~~~~

“Oho, ho, ho,” a man with black and white spiked hair approached you with wide eyes, getting borderline too close to your face before you even fully walked through the door, “who are you?”

“I’m y/n, it’s uh, nice to meet you.” you tried to give a casual smile as the man continued to make direct eye contact with you, “I like your hair.”

His face lit up with a blinding smile, “Thank you! Your hair is also very nice, very pretty, suits your face shape.” A genuine smile slipped on your face at the compliment, “I’m Bokuto Koutarou, I don’t live here.” His smile still in place, despite your now confused expression, “And Yachi! I haven’t seen you in forever!” Bokuto turned to your roommate who had been standing beside you, leaning down to give her a seemingly very tight hug.

“Hello, Bokuto-san!” This was not one of the people Yachi had told you about. She had mentioned Tsukishima and Yamaguchi’s other two roommates, but nothing about a random boisterous man.

“Bokuto, please put her down.” A very pretty man came from around the corner, laying a hand on Bokuto’s shoulder. Bokuto did such and turned to throw an arm around the man’s shoulders. “It’s nice to see you again, Yachi.” He now faced you with a small smile just barely curving his lips, “And you must be y/n? Tsukishima said he invited another friend.”

“Yes, that would be me. Can I assume you live here?”

“You can. I’m Akaashi Keiji and you’ve met my boyfriend I see.” Boyfriend got it. “Everyone else is in the kitchen getting snacks but feel free to get comfortable.” He gave you two another smile before going back down the hallway he came, Bokuto trailing behind him.

You and Yachi walked over to the small living room area in front of you, “Sorry I didn’t warn you about Bokuto, I didn’t realize he was coming.”

“It’s all good,” you said with a chuckle, “He seems nice.”

“He is! It probably means that Kuroo is here too, but don’t worry! He’s nice too! They can just get kind of … loud.” The two of you were interrupted by a freckled man (who you recognized as Yamaguchi from pictures Yachi had shown you) that walked into a room.

“Yachi! What’s up?” His smile was warm as the two met in a hug, “And y/n! It’s nice to officially meet you.”

“Same. I’m happy to expand my social circle,” you said, returning his smile with a chuckle.

“So as for games-”

“Y/N!” You startled at your name being yelled by an unfamiliar man (possibly, Kuroo? He was already loud) power walking from the hallway. Tsukishima was quickly trailing behind him, trying to act calm but obviously failing. “Were you the vixen that swept our dear Tsukki away last Saturday night?”

Your wide-eyed gaze met Tsukishima’s (who looked physically in pain), “Perhaps.” Tsukishima closed his eyes, seeming to anticipate the following smirk that grows on the man’s face at your answer. “But in my defense, Yachi was there too.”

“Yes, but Tsukki didn’t know that, did he.” Eyes turn to Tsukishima, who was now sitting at the end of the couch, a hand rubbing his eyes underneath his glasses.

“Can we move on?”

“No! We cannot, but first,” Kuroo looks to Bokuto, both straightening their backs as they say simultaneously, “shots?”

Oh, this was going to be a fun night.

~~~

“Tsukishima. Tsukishima … Tsuki … shima”

“Can I help you?”

“Please let me try on your glasses.” Okay so maybe the sixth shot was a bad idea. “Please, I just want to see how blind you are.”

You were usually okay when it came to drinking, never getting too wild or out of control, but the vibe of the night mixed with Tsukishima still being annoyingly sober after three drinks made you more … talkative.

“I’m not blind.” Tsukishima relented, slipping his glasses from his face and into your waiting hand, and subsequently onto your face.

“Damn, you really aren’t, this is a pussy prescription.” Your eyes were slightly glazed as they looked around the living room, not being able to focus on the shapes of the room.

Kuroo broke into a cackle from his position on the floor playing a card game with Bokuto, Akaashi, and Yachi, “Fucking burn Tsukki.”

“Kuroo.” Kenma called, curled around a pillow on the couch, phone clutched in hand.

“Sorry, sorry. Quiet voice, shhhh.” Kenma gave a nod and returned to his huddled position.

You focused back on Tsukishima, giving him his glasses, “I used to wear glasses, you know. My prescription was really bad. I’ve been wearing contacts recently though, hence the,” you gestured to your face, lacking frames.

“So that’s how you know I have a ‘pussy prescription’?”

“Heh wait, ‘pussy prescription,’ I just realized.” You giggled at him, “Like the opposite of a dick appointment.”

“Alright, that’s enough of that conversation. Want some water?”

“Yes, but also!” You faced the other members of the group in their various positions around the small room, “can we order food?”

“Now that’s what I like to hear!” Bokuto sprang up, already going around the room to take orders before calling in an order to a local restaurant, known to be specifically used by drunk college students at two a.m.

While Bokuto and Kuroo left to pick up the order, you quietly sat back down next to Tsukishima.

“I know this is very out of the blue and maybe it’s cause I’m a lil drunk-”

“A little?”

“Shaddup, I’m not that bad,” you gently slapped his chest at the comment (and wow that’s a thought for later), “just … thank you for inviting me.”

“Well, you know, we were inviting Yachi, just seemed like we were obligated to and all that.” Tsukishima wasn’t looking at you but you could see a light blush staining the tops of his cheeks.

“Oh, I’m sure you were very obligated to do so. But come on bro, I’m trying to have a tender moment.”

“… you’re welcome.” You stared at him intensely, he sighed before relenting, “Okay, I get it. I’m glad you came. Seriously.”

You smiled up at him, “Do you guys do this type of thing often? You guys are all really nice and I think Yachi is happy to have you guys back in her life. I think the both of us would really enjoy doing this again.”

Tsukishima gave a small smile back, “I think the both of you are welcome anytime.”

“Glad to hear it.”

The two of you sat in your own bubble for a bit before the smack of the door against the wall alerted you to the food arriving.

The night ended soon after that, everyone sitting on various pieces of furniture in the cramped space, slowly sobering up and getting sleepier at the same time while eating your respective orders (and if you stole some of Tsukishima’s french fries, no one had to know).

Akaashi had already dragged a clingy, half-awake Bokuto to their bedroom, and Kenma had been curled half on Kuroo’s lap for the last half hour. Yamaguchi, while still participating in conversation, was letting out large yawns in the middle of sentences and Yachi wasn’t much better.

“Alright, I think we should head home,” you said, turning to Yachi who slowly nodded in agreement. The two of you rose, slipping your shoes and coats on near the door, “it’s been real, goodnight everyone, I hope to see you soon.” Yachi also giving a quiet goodbye to the room.

“I’ll walk you guys home, it’s late and Tokyo can get scary at night,” Tsukishima said, walking over to his own set of shoes and coat.

“Thank you, Tsukki,” Yachi replied, continuing to settle into her coat. You didn’t voice your own thanks, but you smiled at Tsukishima.

“What a gentleman, Tsukki. It was a pleasure to see you ladies,” Kuroo said, voice much quieter than it was previously in the night.

You and Yachi waved as a final goodbye for the night before the three of you made the short walk to your apartment.

~~~~~~

It didn’t take long for Tsukki to see you and Yachi off. Just as he had done last Saturday, he walked you two to the door where you all said your goodbyes.

“Hey text me when you get home, I heard these streets can get scary.” You told Tsukishima as you entered your building.

“Yeah, I will,” You smiled at him then turned back to walk with Yachi further into the building.

Tsukishima took his time going back to the apartment, reflecting on tonight’s events. You got along with his friends. That was good. That was a normal thing to want from a new friend. Just a friend. Yeah, he could go with that.

He tried to be quiet entering the apartment, but it was no use, Kuroo and Yamaguchi were still sitting in the living room and immediately turned to him.

“So … ” Yamaguchi began.

“You and y/n seem to be getting close,” Kuroo winked and tried to raise his eyebrows at Tsukishima but the movement ending up looking twitchy and not at all smooth.

Tsukishima tried to look aloof as he answered their waiting stares, “She doesn’t like me like that.”

“Wait, so does that mean you like her like that?” Yamaguchi smiled, seeing the slight tensing of his friend’s shoulders.

“Oh, that is definitely what it means, Yama.”

“No, no it does not,” Tsukishima tried to stop the two before they had the idea hard set in their minds, “y/n is just a friend. We like the same music, we share a singular class, and yeah okay she’s kinda cute-”

“Oho, ho, ho, did you hear that Yamaguchi?” Fuck. Kuroo’s smirk was wide at this point, “So this is happening then?”

“Nothing is happening.” Tsukishima quickly finished ripping off his shoe and walked to his room to pass out for the night, he could still hear Yamaguchi’s reply to Kuroo though as he shut the door.

“It’s happening.”

Tsukishima sighed, sprawling across his bed. Before he forgot, he pulled up his phone.

To y/n:

streets weren’t too bad

i got mugged but the scar is gonna be pretty cool

From y/n:

does it at least go through your eyebrow?

To y/n:

just a little bit :/

From y/n:

i dunno man

is it really worth it at that point

To y/n:

…

goodnight y/n

From y/n:

goodnight tsukishima

#haikyuu!!#haikyuu imagines #haikyuu x reader #tsukishima kei #tsukishima kei x reader #tsukishima x reader #tsukki x reader

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queenofmoons67 · 4 years

Text

Midori Oni: Prologue

Welcome to my obligatory Tiger and Bunny and BNHA fic!

Summary: When Wild Tiger accidentally ends up 155 years in the future, he’s still being chased by a criminal mastermind, and as such does his best to blend into the new world around him. But Kotetsu has never been the best at hiding, and this time is no different:

Before long, Wild Tiger is making ripples amongst villains as a new vigilante. And as he fights to simultaneously be a hero, stay safe, and find a way home, he stumbles upon two students of UA’s hero course. And then eighteen more.

Aka an outsider view of Kotetsu, through the eyes of Class 1A.

(Shinsou Hitoshi replaces Mineta Minoru)

Canon timeline-wise, the story begins during the time leap after cour one of "Tiger & Bunny." Kotetsu enters the BNHA timeline during the sports festival.

Kotetsu panted, struggling to catch his breath when he was already out of Hundred Power and racing through the lowest part of Sternbild.

“Wild Tiger!” a voice called, echoing off the alley walls close behind him. “Why don’t you just give up? There’s nowhere to run!”

Kotetsu grinned. “Hear that, Bunny?” he asked. “He thinks there’s nowhere to run.”

Bunny’s voice was tinny through the comms, but the scoff came through loud and clear. “Focus, Wild Tiger. You’re going to take a right on the next street; I’m almost there myself.”

“Yeah, yeah. I’m bringing this guy straight to you, don’t worry.”

There was just the sound of panting as Kotetsu leapt over a fallen trashcan, and he imagined Bunny pausing to think about what to say. Since dealing with Martinez and Kriem, they had both been trying to be more patient with one another and acknowledge each other’s ideas, and personally, Kotetsu thought they were working a lot better as partners. Bunny had actually agreed to Kotetsu’s idea of using himself as bait for this criminal, for one, and for another—

Kotetsu wouldn’t admit it to Bunny, but it was strange for him, running through the streets without his partner by his side. Having him on the comms just wasn’t the same.

But there was the corner, and with a grin, Kotetsu put on a burst of speed as he rounded it. Bunny was waiting for him.

Mario blinked, adjusted his glasses, and peered closer at the camera image before him as it was overwhelmed by a bright white light.

“Just a second folks, we might be having some technical difficulties. Orlando, can you zoom in for us and try to find Wild Tiger again?”

Orlando gave him a thumbs up, already messing with his camera, and Mario leaned back in his seat.

This segment had been weird from the very beginning. The criminal had been stopped while in the middle of robbing a bank, but had seemed unbothered by it—in fact, he’d seemed downright delighted to get the chance to taunt each hero as they arrived on the scene, his super strength power easily keeping the heroes back from being able to actually arrest him.

Barnaby and Wild Tiger had ended up in charge of the fight when Wild Tiger’s fight with the criminal had accidentally sent them down to Sternbild’s lower levels, where the HeroTV chopper couldn’t follow. Mario and Orlando had done their best to follow them from the skies, and report on how Wild Tiger had quickly run out of Hundred Power and started fleeing from the criminal instead of chasing him—and instead of escaping, the criminal had actually given chase in turn! But now…

Orlando shook his head and gave him a sideways thumb. Frowning, Mario directed his attention to the screen and began to narrate for their viewers.

“Orlando has gotten the view back for us, folks, but it—it doesn’t seem to be working that well. That is, we can see where Wild Tiger and the criminal just were, but we can’t actually see them now. Oh, and here comes Barnaby, looking for his partner—”

Mario kept talking, but he also gestured frantically for Orlando to contact Agnes. They had a missing hero on their hands.

Kotetsu stumbled to a halt, jaw dropping as Sternbild’s night sky was replaced by daylight and a cheering crowd. He himself was standing in the shadows beside them, but inching forward, he realized that they were all gathered around a wall of tv screens facing outwards from a store’s glass front.

There was someone with green hair fighting someone else with red-and-white hair. What was this, some new kind of Christmas style?

Peering closer, Kotetsu noted with surprise the tagline was in Japanese. Thankful he knew his mother’s language, he read: “UA Sports Festival—Second Round of the Battle Tournament.” What on earth…?

Kotetsu tore his gaze away, meaning to see if any of the other televisions were showing something that actually made sense, but his eyes caught on the reflection of someone staring back at him. The criminal he’d been chasing grinned.

Kotetsu bolted, dashing into the nearest alley and heading away from the crowd. So far the criminal hadn’t attempted to harm any civilians, but there was no reason to take that risk.

“Come back, hero!” the criminal called, his feet slapping against the concrete as he followed Kotetsu.

“Not on your life!” Kotetsu replied, and the criminal laughed.

As Kotetsu focused back on the path before him, though, he realized that someone else had been unusually quiet through all of this.

“Bunny?”

No answer, but the comm was still on.

“Hey, Bunny, you there?”

Still nothing.

“Barnaby, this isn’t funny! Answer me!”

Silence yet again.

Cursing, Kotetsu made a series of quick turns, one after another. He’d obviously been transported somewhere new, likely in Japan. Maybe the comms were fried when the transport happened? They still looked like they were on, but Kotetsu knew weird things happened with technology sometimes. Case in point: Whatever happened to land him here.

For now, though, there was nothing Kotetsu could do about it. He wasn’t a tech wizard like Saito, and he had to focus on just evading the criminal for now. In this unfamiliar place, where his hero license didn’t apply and he had no Hundred Power for at least another forty-five minutes, he couldn’t risk a fight.

If he was being honest with himself, he couldn’t risk a fight even after his Hundred Power came back. He’d lost the first one; that was why he’d been leading the criminal to Bunny in the first place.

Kotetsu swerved around another corner and took the opportunity to look behind him. His tail was still a bit back, but—but was he gaining on him? Kotetsu couldn’t tell.

For a moment, he thought about dumping his suit. Its weight only slowed him down, and without his Hundred Power, it was less than useless.

It would take time for him to wrestle the suit off without mechanical help, though, and he might not remember where he dumped it. Plus, Saito would kill him if he lost it.

Resolving to losing the criminal the good old-fashioned way, Kotetsu turned deeper into this maze of alleys.

When Kotetsu’s Hundred Power finally returned, he took the opportunity to get away for good and turned on his speed, sprinting through a series of dizzying turns before grappling up to a roof. Safe in the high ground, he tried every rooftop entrance he came across before tiredly stumbling into the first open one he found and collapsing in a metal heap in a stairwell.

Kotetsu spent the night like that, still in his suit, and when he woke up, he made a mental note to never do that again. His poor, aching body did not like him right now—though Kotetsu liked his comms still being fried even less.

He would have to go out and try to figure out what all of this was himself. But he couldn’t do that while in his suit; that was just asking for the criminal to spot him again, and Kotetsu wasn’t in the mood for another high speed chase through the alleys. He would have to take the suit off.

An hour later, Kotetsu shielded his eyes with a hand as he walked out onto a busy street. Removing the suit had been an adventure and a half. He’d always had Saito by his side for it, which meant this time, he’d fought his way out mostly by randomly selecting pieces to remove individually. He felt bad about it, but he figured Saito should be able to put it back together—and if not, the man would probably just go to Maverick with the idea for a new set of matching suits for Tiger and Bunny.

Reasonably satisfied, Kotetsu had stashed the suit pieces behind some dust-covered boxes in a supply closet, then headed out.

Perhaps he should have second-guessed his outfit choice, though. His tight black under-armor was drawing a lot of looks.

After the third person he spotted openly checking him out, Kotetsu turned on his Hundred Power and sped through an apartment building at top speed, stopping only to snag a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt hanging in a communal laundry room. A little wet, and the theft made his skin prickle uncomfortably, but necessary.

As comfortable as he could be, given the circumstances, Kotetsu finally turned his full attention to finding a newspaper and figuring out where he was.

Or rather, he tried to, but Kotetsu was quickly distracted by just how strange his new surroundings were. Some people looked normal, but there were others with even weirder hair dyes than the two on TV the night before. And even stranger than that was the way some NEXTs’ powers had affected them. Kotetsu had never seen a NEXT mutate before, let alone take on the features of animals.

And then there was just how many people seemed to be NEXTs. Kotetsu was used to being one of a minority, but here, NEXTs seemed to actually be the majority. They walked the streets freely, unafraid of using their powers for trivial things. One boy idly stirred his coffee, finger steaming, while a girl used some of the eyes on the ends of her hair to read a book even while the eyes in her head watched where she was going.

The strangest thing of all, though, was how no one else blinked. Not a single person, whether they seemed to be a NEXT or not, was afraid of those using their powers. It was as though Kotetsu had stepped into some idealistic future where NEXTs were no longer discriminated against.

Finally spotting a stand selling newspapers, Kotetsu hurried over, picked one up, and scanned it. Like the TV the night before, and like most of the conversations around him, the text was in Japanese: “Musutafu Local News.” That wasn’t surprising.

What was surprising was the date next to it.

“Excuse me, sir?” Kotetsu asked the seller, handing him the newspaper. “Is this date right?”

The seller barely glanced at it. “Yep. Do you want to buy it?”

Numbly, Kotetsu shook his head and walked away.

He was 155 years in the future.

The first thing Kotetsu did was find a library and research everything he could about current events. He refused to touch anything from his entire time, worrying that this might be like one of those sci-fi novels where he risked accidentally changing everything.

Even with his research, though, he was missing things. Refusing to go too far back meant he missed a lot of both the civil rights movement for NEXTs, and the laws that were eventually put in place for both civilians and their present-day version of heroes.

Because of that, what he knew could generally be summed up as most of the population having powers, now called ‘quirks.’

A consequence of this was stricter laws on when and where a person could use their quirk; what Kotetsu had seen in public so far was generally the limit. There was also discrimination against the quirkless, which threw Kotetsu for a loop for a moment since he was used to being discriminated against for his Hundred Power, though he supposed it made sense considering he was now in the majority.

For a moment, Kotetsu wondered if he would still be discriminated in this future, since he as good as had no quirk for most of the day—then he shook his head and moved on. If he was, it wasn’t like it was anything he wasn’t used to. If anything, he thought wryly, it might be refreshing to be discriminated against for how weak his power was, instead of how powerful it could make him.

Hopefully, though, Kotetsu wouldn’t be in this future long enough to find out.

Unfortunately, he was losing that same hope every second longer he was stuck here. It had been nearly twenty-four hours, and the power still hadn’t faded.

For all Kotetsu knew, it would take technology to get him back—technology that not even this future seemed to have.

Kotetsu headed back to the same stairwell he’d stashed his suit in that night, and sighed when he woke there the next morning.

For now, he decided, he would act as though he would be stuck in this new society for the rest of his life: Settle in and build a base of support, before trying whatever it would take to find a way home. He would have to lay low, since it was possible the criminal who’d also gotten snapped here was still after him. It was also possible that same criminal knew how to get back home, but Kotetsu had nothing to make him want to take Kotetsu back with him. Besides, it was better to be the one surprising than the one being surprised. He could track down the criminal and stay low.

The next big problem was money. Kotetsu needed it for food, shelter, a place to store his suit, toiletries, and just about everything else. He had a decent amount of cash stashed away in his suit for emergencies, but for the most part: For money, he needed a job, and for a job, he needed a new identity.

Kotetsu couldn’t trust that the heroes of this time wouldn’t see straight through a fake paper trail, which meant no seeking a position with them.

At the same time, this new society was different enough to the one that Kotetsu knew that he didn’t quite trust it anyway. Before, he knew that money motivated sponsors, while heroes competed but ultimately trusted each other. Now, he didn’t know what pushed society—if they did catch him, they might not let him go free. They might not even help him. And for now, that meant avoiding heroes and picking up smalltime jobs until he had the money for a new identity.

Kotetsu chased criminals for more than ten years; he knew how to track down a forger—though admittedly, this would be his first time hiring one.

It didn’t take long for Kotetsu to figure out the main issue with his plan: When you’re searching for one kind of criminal, it’s not hard to stumble upon others. Kotetsu managed to ignore them for as long as it took to set up a new civilian identity—Kaburagi Muramasa, after his brother—and to find a retail position.

Several weeks later, Kotetsu had enough money that, while he still returned to that stairwell every night, he felt comfortable caving to his instincts and putting his suit on for the first time since he’d taken it off that first morning.

Or at least, he tried.

Without Saito and his mechanics to help, it took Kotetsu an entire day to figure out how to piece his suit back together.

After that, though, Kotetsu started spending all of his free time on the streets. He knew Bunny wouldn’t be happy about him going out, but he also knew that Bunny would understand why Kotetsu couldn’t just sit still when there were people in need. In a compromise to his partner, though, he at least tried to stick to the shadows.

It only took a week and a half for the heroes and police to start hunting him.

Naomasa Tsukauchi pinned a sketch to an otherwise blank board, then sat on his desk and stared it. Glowing neon green eyes stared back.

A new vigilante had appeared on the streets, and those eyes were one of the only clues he had for finding the man. He hid behind armor that lit up when he used his quirk, though they hadn’t yet figured out what it was: Some of the villains he’d caught claimed super strength, others super hearing and a half dozen more.

Naomasa had been tempted to nickname the vigilante ‘Superman,’ after the classic comic, but the villains had already named him ‘Midori Oni.’

The Green Oni.

Naomasa couldn’t deny the vigilante had the typical horns and green coloring down perfectly, though he lacked a tiger pelt.

Sighing, Naomasa stood back up and grabbed a box already full with case files for villains Midori Oni had caught. He’d been busy, Naomasa could give him that—but vigilantism was illegal. They had heroes for a reason.

#kotetsu t. kaburagi #wild tiger #tiger & bunny #tiger and bunny #bnha #boku no hero academia #my hero academia #tiger and bunny fic #bnha fic #mine #My fic #fanfic #Midori Oni

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jane-fucking-seymour · 5 years

Text

And the Nominees Are...

In honor of Lexi McIntosh being the announcer for the Oliviers nomination ceremony!!! Big ups Lexi you were fantastic

Katherine was staring at the front door of the flat, curled up in a ball on the couch, looking very, very concerned. The newest episode of Love Island has been paused for the past five minutes, but the center of Kat’s attention is at the door that Anna walked through to answer a phone call. It’s weird for Anna to not take a call in front of the other queens, and it’s weirder still that she hasn’t returned.

“Anyone have any idea who Anna is talking to?” she asks, never letting her gaze leave the door. “She doesn’t usually just walk away from our telly time, regardless of what the call is, so it has to be important.”

Anne, across from her on another couch, continued to look at her phone. “No idea, but I’m sure it’s nothing.”

“She left really quickly,” Kat immediately remarks. “It’s got to be something.”

“Bessie’s upstairs with the other ladies,” Catherine says, working on some needlework. “So it can’t be her.”

“Maybe it’s a dog at the shelter?” Cathy suggests, tilting her head as she looks between Kat and the door and back at Kat.

Jane, who had been reading next to Anne, just sighs. “We’ll know as soon as she comes back, love, I doubt it’s anything bad-”

She’s interrupted, however, by the door opening.

Kat immediately scrambles forward, opening the door, where Anne is standing. “Are you alright?” Kat asks, clearly concerned.

Anna chuckles and nods, gently pulling the girl close.

“Queens, I’ve got an announcement to make,” Anna says confidently. The Ladies, having heard commotion, are waiting on the stairs for said announcement.

The others watch carefully as Anna suddenly grins:

“I’m going to be announcing the nominations for an awards show!”

At first, there’s silence.

But then, the entire room bursts into excitement.

“Oh really?!?”

“That’s incredible, Anna.”

“Congrats, babes!”

“That’s really cool!”

“Hell yeah!”

The girls talk over each other, excitedly congratulating Anna and giving her hugs and the like. Eventually, when the excitement dies down a little bit, Katherine is the first to speak.

“Is that who you were on the phone with?” Kat asks, tilting her head.

“Yes,” Anna nods. “I’ll know who the nominations are, I’ll need to practice their pronunciation and the like, and it’ll be streamed online.”

“Oh! Do you need to practice in front of a live studio audience?” Catherine asks, smirking as the rest of the women chuckle.

“No, no, I actually can’t really practice here at all,” Anna says. “They made me sign a NDA so I don’t reveal who is nominated.”

“Rude,” Jane says, “but fair. When’s the announcement?”

“In a week,” Anna replies. “I’ll be jumping from shows to the rehearsals to make sure I get this right.”

“Well, we’re all very proud of you, Anna,” Cathy says, “and if there’s anything we can do to help, let us know, yeah?”

Anna nods with a grin. “Thank you. All of you.”

The week is a blur for the rest of the queens, who rarely see Anna. She’s often got a list that she’s pouring over, mouthing words to herself to make sure she understands the pronunciations. The other queens keep to themselves mostly, and before they know it, it’s the day before the event.

Katherine and Cathy wander on into the living room, unexpectedly interrupting a mini rehearsal session that Anna was doing.

When Anna spots them, she instantly scrambles to hide the papers she has, making Cathy chuckle.

“You know you’re going to do fine, right?” Cathy asks.

“More than fine,” Katherine says, “she’ll be brilliant!”

Anna gives a small smile. “I know, I just... I don’t want to get this wrong, you know?” she looks down at the papers; they’ve got the actual spelling, but also a phonetic spelling that Anna’s written in herself. “English isn’t my first language, and I’m always afraid I’ll mispronounce something. I don’t want to be wrong, you know? There will be a lot of people watching - apparently it could be thousands of people.”

Katherine frowns, instantly moving to hug Anna. “I’m sorry we’re not allowed to go with you, otherwise we would absolutely be there to give you support-”

“No, no, I get it, and it’s not your fault they aren’t allowing me a plus one,” Anna says, gently booping Kat’s nose. “Otherwise, I know you’d be there. I guess I’m just a bit nervous because it’s not something I’ve ever really done before...”

Cathy tilts her head. “But you do it every night, you know? And you sing, too. In heels. This doesn’t require any dancing, right?”

Anna chuckles. “No, but that’d be really funny. Could you imagine, doing Ex-Wives but with nominations?”

Cathy smiles a bit at that. “See? You’ve done more hectic things before, you’ll be alright.”

“And they’re not even requiring you to wear heels, right?” Kat asks, and Anna nods. “It’ll be easy!”

“I guess the lack of audience is nice, too,” Anna says, “but there’s a big camera and lights...” Anna sighs. “Sorry. It’s just... different than usual.”

Katherine hugs Anna tighter. “You’re gonna be alright. I promise you, Anna. You’re the best of us, you’ll ace it for sure.”

Cathy nods. “With how much you’ve been preparing, I’ve no doubt that you’ll be the best announcer there.”

“Well, there’s only two of us-” Anna starts, but Cathy rolls her eyes with a smile.

“You know what I mean, missy.”

Anna nods, a grin growing on her face. “Thank you, loves. I mean it.” She lets Kat hold her for a moment more before she gently pulls away. “Now go on then, I need to practice and you can’t be here.”

Katherine pouts. “Just a little spoiler? Please?”

Anna laughs. “Not a chance, Kit. Go on, go with Cathy upstairs, I’ll see you lot tomorrow. It’s past your bedtime.”

Katherine groans, but she moves with Cathy upstairs. Cathy gives Anna a final nod - which Anna returns - before Cathy retires for the evening, Kat in tow. Anna looks down at the lists, smiles, and goes back to rehearsing.

The next morning, Anna wakes up relatively early. Grabbing her folders and her outfit, she gets changed into something comfortable before heading downstairs.

She smiles when she finds that her breakfast has already been made, a heart-shaped pancake and various fruits.

There’s also a card right next to the breakfast, with everyone’s well wishes. The girls were already off to the morning matinee, but they left Anna a good luck meal to help calm her nerves.

Anna chuckles; what did she do to deserve them?

She gets herself ready, heading out to the limo that the awards show arranged to pick her up, and is whisked away to the studio.

When she gets there, her co-announcer, Henry, smiles brightly at her.

“Good morning!” he says as Anna hugs him hello. “Are you ready?”

“I think so,” Anna says with a nod. “Been practicing the names all week.”

“You’re going to do splendid, Anna,” he says. He’s not from the country either, and they bonded a bit over having to learn English as a second language. “We’ll be the best announcers the show’s ever seen.”

Anna nods, liking the confidence he has, and they move inside. Anna’s dressing room is a door down from his, and it’s bigger than the one for the show. It’s decked out in flowers and goodie bags and other lavish items, and Anna smiles at the small ring of red roses that is clearly from a few fans.

As she gets dressed into her dark red suit, she can’t help but start to feel nervous. She tries to combat the intruding thoughts with logic: if she messes up, she just says it correctly. If she stumbles to the podium, she just recovers. If she says the wrong name, she apologizes and corrects herself. She knows what she has to do and how she can recover if things go wrong, but she can’t help but worry.

She takes a deep breath and moves to the makeup department, which gets her outfit covered before they start with the makeup process. The women working there help calm her down a bit.

“Just a bit worried that I’ll mess things up,” Anna admits softly, eyes closed as eyeshadow is applied.

“I’ve seen your show, you know,” the makeup artist says, “and you’ve killed it each time. You’re going to do just fine, Anna.”

Anna nods, looking down at her notes when she has the chance, a deep breath as she continues to pour over the more intricate names on the cards.

It’s ten minutes to showtime and both she and Henry are waiting for the stream to go live. Just as she’s about to turn off her phone, she gets a barrage of texts from the Queen and Ladies in Waiting group chat: they’re all supportive, they love her, and they cannot wait to see her shine. Her tweeting out the link also brought about many a good wish and excitement.

People are excited to see her and are excited to watch her do this.

It’s a comforting thought.

“We’re live in two minutes!” says the stage manager, and with a final “love you all and thank you” to the queens and ladies, Anna turns off her phone.

“One minute!”

Anna straightens out her bowtie, taking a deep breath.

“Thirty seconds!”

She and Henry nod at each other, smile, and look forward.

“Ten!”

She straightens up.

“Five!”

She looks straight at the prompter.

“Four, three, two-”

The light above the camera goes red. They’re live.

“Hello, and welcome to the nominations ceremony,” Henry says. “I’m Henry.”

“And I’m Anna,” Anna says confidently.

“And we’re here,” Henry continues. “to announce this year’s nominees.” He looks over at Anna. “You know, Anna, I’m honored to be here with you tonight to show off the best talent of the year.”

“I must say,” Anna replies, smiling back. “that you’re the best Henry I’ve ever had the pleasure of having company with.”

They laugh - it’s still a funny joke, even to them - and Henry and Anna turn back to the camera.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Henry says. “And on that note, let’s get to it then, shall we?”

The announcements go well - they go back and forth with the categories, rattling off the names and their productions, wait a moment, and rinse and repeat. There’s no audience, and the studio itself is actually fairly small, so after a few categories Anna feels like it’s just her, Henry, the stage manager and that’s it. The quiet of the room is a comfort, really, and Anna is thankful for it.

It takes about twenty minutes to rattle off all the categories. Once they’re done, Anna has the privledge of signing off the broadcast.

“That concludes our nominations ceremony,” Anna says with a smile. “I’m Anna,”

“And I’m Henry,” Henry says.

“And we thank you for watching. Have a good night and once again, congratulations to all nominees.”

The red light slowly fades out, and Anna and Henry are left standing there smiling at the camera.

“And... we’re out!” the stage manager says. “Nice job, you two, that went really well.”

Anna let out a breath she didn’t realize she was holding and instantly laughs, hugging Henry when he offers.

“Brilliant job, Anna!” Henry says.

“You as well,” Anna replies with a grin. “That was a lot of fun, actually. I’m glad it went well.”

They chat for a bit more, taking a selfie or two together to post on social media, before Anna is brought back to her dressing room. She takes off as much makeup as she can, goes back into her more comfortable clothes, then gets into the limo waiting to take her back home.

It’s then that she turns on her phone... and is delighted to see that people both loved the ceremony but also her outfit. A lot of “#goals” are on tweets and insta posts, and she has to laugh at the very positive reactions. Most of all, however, people loved her and Henry together (something she never thought she’d hear again, to be honest) and everyone seemed to be really impressed with her.

As soon as she gets out of the limo and opens the door to the flat, she puts her things down fast and braces herself. Her instincts are well founded: she’s instantly tackled by a blur of pink-tipped hair, who hugs her as tightly as possible.

“That was brilliant, Anna!” Kat says, followed shortly by Bessie, who hugs her queen tightly. The rest of the group is just behind, excitedly congratulating Anna on a job well done. There’s even a cake to commemorate the event.

When everyone’s calmed down a few hours later, Katherine is asleep in Anna’s lap as Catherine and Anna watch television.

“You really did well today, Anna,” Catherine says with a grin.

“I really liked doing it, to be honest,” Anna said. “I wasn’t sure how people were going to react to it just being me, but... I really liked it.”

“Of course they loved you, you’re incredible,” Catherine assures.

“I know that,” Anna quips, “but I was afraid...” she frowns, looking down at Katherine, who is fast asleep. “Well, honestly, I was afraid that people wouldn’t want to tune in because it was just me.”

Catherine frowns at that. “Anna-”

“I know what you’re going to say, Catherine, but the truth is... I’m not the most popular out there. I know that.” Anna sighs. “I’ve seen the bad messages, the people being rude, the trolls, I just... was afraid that they were going to overwhelm this.”

“There’s no way-” Catherine continues, but Anna cuts her off.

“Logically, I know that,” Anna replies. “But I couldn’t help but worry. And then, if I got something wrong, or if I mispronounced a name, I thought I’d be done for.” Anna shrugs. “That’s why I was practicing so much. I didn’t want to let anyone down, and I didn’t want to give the trolls an opening.”

Catherine moves to Anna then, and Anna puts her head on Catherine’s shoulder. She’s still gently rubbing up and down Kat’s arm soothingly, keeping the girl asleep, as Catherine continues.

“I’m sorry they’re so bad, babes. I wish you would have told us before this,” Catherine says quietly. “But you were brilliant, and everyone loved you. You’re one of the best public speakers I know, honestly, and I think you did better than Henry.”

Anna smiles at that, so Catherine continues.

“You were incredible, babes. Don’t sell yourself short. You really knocked it out of the park.”

Anna sighs, relaxing a bit into Catherine, and keeps her close.

“Thank you.”

“I didn’t do anything, you know,” Catherine quips. “This was all you. You’re the reason you killed it. I’m proud of you.”

Anna wrapped an arm around Catherine’s shoulders, and she gently kissed the girl’s cheek.

“Dunno what I’d do without you lot,” Anna mumbles. “But I’m glad you’re all here.”

Catherine smiles.

“Always.”

#six the musical fanfiction #six the musical fanfic #six fanfic #six #six fanfiction #sixfic #anna of cleves #catherine of aragon

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